Dance In The Rain
by RaeDawnxx
Summary: "Don't spend life fearing the storm, Dance in the rain..." They say that with time, things become easier, when in fact the opposite is true. Time heals the wound that is honest enough, but the wound becomes a scar and that scar stays with you forever. Easy to ignore but impossible to forget. (KyoyaxOC)
1. The Not So Anonymous Wallflower

**Hello my darling readers,**

**This is my first fanfiction, and first story EVER! I would just like to take time out to thank those that supported me as I started writing this and in convincing me to publish this, especially my parents and my bestest friend ever who shall remain anonymous. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy my story!**

**Laters, RD**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF OURAN HIGHSCHOOL HOST CLUB'S CHARACTERS OR PLOTS, THEY BELONG TO BISCO HATORI AND CO! I JUST OWN THE BOXSET! HEE HEE :)**

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Dance In The Rain

By RaeDawnxx

**Chapter 1 – The Not So Anonymous Wallflower**

_I don't mind_

_Letting it down easy but just give it time_

_If it don't hurt now just wait, just wait a while_

_You're not the big fish in the pond no more_

_You are what they're feeding on_

_Ain't It Fun - Paramore_

…

**NALI**

The art of being completely anonymous was not totally lost on me. In fact, I believed that over the years I had perfected to the stage where it was practically flawless.

I was not the kind of girl that clamoured for constant attention, however at the same time I was also not the type that stayed in hidden in the shadows. I was that run of the mill average girl that everyone seemed to know but at the same time didn't really.

However, the school I went to had millions of non-average girls, you know the kind that fangirl over practically everything and blushed red like a tomato faster than you can say _flirt_. _That_ kind.

Scoffing, I watched as students flooded out of the Pink Building, otherwise known as Ouran Academy, desperate to catch the last of the sun after a long school day.

Ouran Academy, where those with excellent social standing and filthy rich money attended High school. It was, to say the least, incredibly prestigious and you were considered incredibly lucky if you were able to attend through a scholarship.

Which I did.

The branch I was sitting on creaked as I shifted my weight, stretching. The tree I was currently perched on held a great view over the vast grounds of the school I attended. Girls in puffball yellow dresses whispered with their friends and flirted shamelessly with other guys, who only had to flash their pearly whites to send said girls reeling or swooning.

I sighed glancing up at the rich blue sky, my thoughts wondering away from my classmates.

_He would've loved days like this…_

It had been a year, a year since things changed. They say that with time, things become easier, when in fact the opposite is true. Time heals the wound that is honest enough, but the wound becomes a scar and that scar stays with you forever. Easy to ignore but impossible to forget.

I shook my head, tapping my restless fingers against the worn satchel that served as my school bag.

_Positive thoughts, positive thoughts, positive, positive…_

"Nali-chan!"

I squealed, falling back off the branch. I grabbed the rough bark in order to stop my fall, instead hanging upside down, my short auburn hair swinging in my face. Crossing my arms I scowled at my friend who was giggling at my predicament.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I groaned, swinging my arms about helplessly.

"Sorry," She giggled as I swung myself up right.

Grabbing my satchel, I dropped from the tree, landing on my feet with a stumble. Mei smirked at me as I began to brush pieces of twig and leaves out of my hair.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked with a smirk.

"I was, until some nutter tried to kill me," I replied darkly, throwing my satchel over one shoulder.

"_Drama queen!_" She sang, while I scowled.

Mei rolled her eyes, she was used to my scowling, before pulling me away from the tree and away from the school. As she dragged me away I studied my only friend. We had gone to elementary school together until my father's job had taken me halfway across the country. And although we had only spent a brief time as friends, we forged a bond that had survived across whole continents and endless oceans.

"So what did Mrs Hanabusa say?" I asked as we wandered through the golden gates of Ouran.

Whatever colour Mei had vanished at the mention of our formidable teacher, she stopped dragging me and began to mumble.

"Sorry, what was that?" I asked cupping a hand to my ear.

She scowled, setting a cold glare on me.

"She told me I had the artistic talent of a blind dog with no limbs,"

I snickered, covering my mouth with my hand. Mei just scowled, probably planning many ways of torturing Hanabusa, before turning and flouncing away. I ran after her still trying to supress the laughter that was escaping me.

"It really wasn't _that_ bad," I said between laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, I know I can't draw, but the class is mandatory. Anyway its fine for you since Hanabusa worships the ground you walk on,"

I wiped away my tears with a shrug.

"What can I say? I'm a genius," I placed my clutched hands close to my cheek and fluttered my eyelashes as if I was princess.

Mei rolled her eyes with a small smile as we settled into a companionable silence. Our shoes hit the gravel in sync, my sneakers squeaking. Mei tugged at the collar of her hideous yellow dress with a sigh and I turned to face her.

"I don't understand why you wear that puffball of a dress, you don't look very comfortable,"

Mei fiddled with the hem of her yellow puff ball with a small smile.

"I kind of like it. Maybe it needs a few adjustments, and maybe I'm not as comfortable as you but I think it's pretty,"

I cast a look at her cream puff and then at my baggy jumper, loose Ouran tie and navy skirt, with a raised eyebrow. Never had I been so glad to hear that I couldn't afford something than when the chairman had told me the prices of the uniforms. At least I had a legitimate reason to get out of wearing the yellow monstrosity.

"Anyways, I was wondering -"

"No," I cut her off quickly.

"But…you didn't even know what I was going to ask?" She wailed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I refuse to get involved in any kind of hare-brained scheme of yours, and quite frankly I have better things to do like the mountain of homework that's awaiting me," I gestured to my over flowing satchel.

Mei sighed, blowing her brown fringe out of her eyes with an exasperated look.

"Can you just hear me out," She pouted.

I set my lips in a thin line, averting my gaze from hers. Mei knew how to push my buttons in order to get what she wanted and by getting what she wanted I really mean convincing me to help in one of her idiotic schemes and then inevitably, spending time in detention with her. And I was usually a master of not giving in. As long as I didn't look into her eyes.

_Stay strong, don't give in to that look, don't give in, don't give in, don't..._

"What is it?" I asked with a sigh.

She lit up, her grey eyes sparkling.

"You know that club run by Tamaki Suoh?"

My brow furrowed in thought. What club did Tamaki Suoh run? Hold up, who the hell was Tamaki Suoh?

"You know the Host Club? That club with all the guys that the girls swoon over that the blonde boy in our class is head of," Mei tried to jog my memory and I tapped my chin.

_Host club? What kind of club is a Host Club?_

"There's a lot of blonde boys in our class, you're going to have to elaborate some more,"

She sighed, as if questioning my intelligence. I just rolled my eyes, sorry for not having the same IQ level as Einstein.

"It's really not that hard -" I shot her a glare cutting through whatever she was going to say.

"He's the idiot, with the violet eyes, who flirts with anything with a skirt," Mei threw her hands up exasperatedly at my blank look, "He hangs out with the really creepy guy with the glasses who knows everything,"

An image of our homeroom teacher calling on the creepy dude flashed through my head, and I'm sure I distinctly remembered some other blonde dude glomping him and some other girls fainting before I was distracted by the chocolate bar I found at the bottom of my bag.

So I'm guessing the Host Club was that thing that the girls in my class couldn't stop squealing over.

"I think I know what you're on about, what does it have to do with anything?"

"Well, my dad is taking me to a really important business meeting tomorrow after school, but the Ootori guy asked me to deliver some of our new plants from the gardening club, and I'm not going to make it so I was wondering…if you would go instead?"

Mei watched me closely while I thought over what to do. I could easily drop off the package on my way to the art classrooms after school tomorrow, it wasn't like I had anything better to do.

"Fine, but you owe me,"

She grinned, her eyes sparkling.

"Two scoops of White Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream?"

"Make it three, and we have a deal," I bartered with a grin. Mei laughed, nudging me in the side as we continued on our path.

There used to be a time when things were different. When I was different. But things changed and certain things came to light which could not be ignored. I had to mature faster than any of my classmates, and there were still certain things about me that no one else, not even Mei, knew. Everyone has secrets, even that run of the mill average girl you don't really know.

Suddenly, a pair of hands clamped down on my shoulders, pulling me out of my thoughts and causing me to shriek like a banshee and Mei to stumble in fright.

"Ah so this is where you have been hiding, young maiden,"

My eye twitched in annoyance and I scowled.

_What a mood killer, _I couldn't help but think sourly.

"Benio-san, shouldn't you be with your Club?" I asked through gritted teeth.

She laughed, turning to face me with a sensual smile that made me want to shudder.

"My dear maiden, I came to bask myself in your presence. Every moment away from you is like a tear in my heart." She grabbed my hand kneeling down in front of me.

"Every breath and I feel as if I am dying, another sigh and my life would be gone from me."

I tried tugging my hand away, but she kept an ironclad grasp on it still ranting about love and death and the mistreatment of maidens. I shot Mei a panicked look but she averted her gaze with a mischievous smirk. I swore as soon as this crazy let go of my hand I would kill Mei before Mrs Hanabusa even got her hands on her. Scowling deeply, I began to think of all the torturous ways I could kill my best friend.

"See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" Benio spun me into her arms, dipping me low towards the ground.

_Shakespeare, how original…_

"You are wasting your talents here, hiding away your beauty. Please, dear maiden, join me?" She released me but kept a firm grip on my hand which she kissed.

I snatched my hand away with an annoyed sigh and a barely repressed shudder.

_Finally._

"My answer is still the same, Benio-san. I have no interest in transferring back to Lobelia." I crossed my arms over my chest with a frown.

"Bbbut?" Benio stuttered her eyes wide as if I had just told her that her cat had died, "Why?"

"I'm happy here, I have friends and I have a life. You just can't expect me to give that all up for a club," I replied honestly, shrugging.

"But dear maiden, I still do not understand why you have chosen this school over Lobelia. The boys here have overbearing egos and are as dull as they can possibly come, and the maidens are as equally as bad, with their whispering gossiping ways. I can protect you from their harsh words more than any idiotic boy can promise to,"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Benio pulled a confused face and I sighed, "It's not about the boys, heck it's not even about how well you can or cannot protect me. The simple fact is that there are going to be whispering, gossiping girls everywhere I go. There's no point in hiding or being _protected_."

"Now, I think it's time for you scat. We have homework to be doing and you're being a pain," Mei butted in with a sweet grin.

Benio scowled before striking a heroic pose.

"This is not over. I shall not give up!" and with those final words, she spun away in a flurry of complicated twists and turns.

Once she was gone, Mei released her laughter. Her face turned bright red and tears were streaming down her face.

"Oh jeez, that was...gosh,"

I groaned, hiding my red face in my hands.

"Please don't laugh,"

"No wonder you hated Lobelia so badly_. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!_"

"Mei you're not helping." I hissed, kicking at the gravel with my sneakers.

She snorted, wiping away her tears, before standing next to me her arm draped over my shoulder. I glared at her, but she just grinned in response.

"I hate you,"

"I love you too, mon ami," Mei grinned ruffling my hair playfully.

I sometimes wondered what life would be like without Mei to lean on. She had been my friend for longer than I could care to admit, she knew that I hid things from her, she knew there was a bigger picture that she couldn't see, but still she stayed by my side. Without her…well I didn't like to dwell on what ifs.

"I better go, Kaori's probably wondering where I am,"

"Are you kidding? She's probably called in the private police by now. Any second now there'll be a helicopter overhead or maybe another lost child announcement."

Mei sweat dropped, while I just grinned maniacally, thinking back to the last time Mei got "lost". Kaori freaked out so much by the time Mei had returned from staying over at my flat, half the country was searching for the little lost girl Mei. The head of her father's security was a great agent but more than a bit scatter-brained.

"I'll see you later." She waved at me over her shoulder before disappearing into the crowds.

"I'll keep an eye on the skies and an ear out for any mysterious announcements."

"Hilarious." She shouted over her shoulder.

"Catch you on the flipside." I grinned.

I paused, watching as the bustling crowds devoured her slim figure. Closing my eyes, I breathed in deeply, savouring the smell of spices on the wind.

The sakura blossoms lit up the square which I walked through every day. The branches swayed in the breeze, which playfully greeted the spring air, while the sun cast a warm glow on my face. The fountain in the middle of the square splashed quietly, the sun's rays lighting the water like sparkling diamonds. The winter was behind us, and I was looking forward to the summer.

Opening my eyes, I slipped in my earphones, muffling the sound of the crowds around me. My mind wandered back to what Benio had said about Ouran's students.

It was true what I had said, girls who whispered and gossiped behind others backs were everywhere, and there was no escaping them. But the ones at Ouran where the worst kind.

They tended to come from traditionally wealthy families that upheld traditional values. They had certain views on how wealthy families should act and behave, with certain rules on how to be the perfect family.

I wasn't deemed worthy to their families, I was something my family should be ashamed of. Another relative hidden in the shadows, out of view, so as not to ruin their perfect image.

And it was all my fault.

Someone like me shouldn't belong in their world. A girl who couldn't walk outside her own front door without being whispered about.

I crossed my arms over my torso as if to protect myself from the whispers.

The eldest son was considered the heir to any and all family companies. He was the foundation on which the family was built on. If on the rare occasion that no male heir was conceived, it is their belief that the eldest daughter should be married to a suitable blue blood of the parent's choice.

There should be no exceptions.

But there was no longer a Tanaka male heir. And I'd be damned if I let anyone marry me off some stuck up rich prick.

I paused beside the fountain, pulling out an old crumpled photo from my pocket. Five smiling faces looked up at me as I smoothed out the ancient paper.

_I miss you more than I could possibly say._

Folding the picture back into my pocket, I glanced up at the darkening clouds.

_Don't spend life fearing the storm, Nali. Have the courage to dance in the rain._


	2. The Bearer of Bad News

**Hello again!**

**I just want to thank everyone who either favourited/followed my story, it's means so much! A special thanks to my first reviewer Shadowsammy! You should definitely read her Ouran story ****_Picking Up The Pieces_****, I'm enjoying it loads.**

**Anyway, on with the story.**

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**Chapter 2 – The Bearer of Bad News**

_I'm on the edge of something_

_So I just keep running every time_

_I lose my head_

_I'm on the edge of something_

_So I just keep falling every time_

_I lose my head_

_Edge Of Something ~ Jamie Cullum_

…

**NALI**

"I'm Home," I called to the empty apartment.

The door slammed shut behind me, echoing in the silent hallway, as I shrugged of my damp jacket, throwing it messily onto a peg beside the door. I flicked on the light switch, stretching my arms over my head sleepily. The rain had been showering down on and off all week, so I wasn't surprised when I got caught in it. Something soft rubbed against my legs, pulling me out of my thoughts and with a grin I crouched to greet my visitor.

Well, the apartment was mostly empty.

Sasha mewed at me as I stroked her soft, dark coat. She blinked at me with wide green eyes.

"Hey kitty, did you have a nice day?"

She only mewed in response before scampering down my dimly lit hallway and towards the kitchen. I rolled my eyes at her antics; I knew exactly what she wanted.

Sometimes I found myself wishing for my old home back. A house that was filled with life and laughter and not deserted hallways and bad lighting, where every room held a lasting memory and not just a snapshot to remind myself of it. A house with more than just a teenage girl and a cat living in it.

Humming to myself softly, I made my way to the kitchen, glancing at the family portraits that hung on my wall and flicking on the radio as I went. Bouncing my head to the beat of an old favourite of mine, I poured Sasha some food and refreshed her water.

As I placed the two bowls at my feet, the cat mewed a thanks, running a circle of eight around my ankles, before turning to her bowls.

I grabbed a breakfast bar from the snacks pile, tearing open the packet greedily.

And that was the exact moment the door swung open and my quiet calm world crashed in tiny pieces of twinkling glass.

I jumped out of my skin, turning to face my attacker with a glare.

"NALI-CHAN! MY PRECIOUS NIECE!" He hugged me, his arms tightening around my neck.

"Yori-san, gerroff." I tried, unsuccessfully, to pry him off me.

He just grinned, looking at me with sparkling hazel eyes, the same pair I was used to seeing in the mirror every morning.

"How is my precious niece today? All is well, I hope." he snuggled into me, while I thrashed about wildly.

I crossed my arms over my chest, unamused by my uncle's affection. He was known to be…a little too exuberant at the best of times.

"Everything started out great, and then someone decided it would be a great idea to name it "How Many Times Can We Give Nali A Heart Attack" day." I grumbled as he let go of me.

As per usual my uncle glossed over my words, only hearing what he wanted to hear. He walked into the kitchen and began to rummage about in the cupboards.

"How's Mika-chan?" I asked, jumping up onto one of the marble countertops.

He poked his head back out of the cupboard and gave me a soft smile.

"She settled in fine, and even made some new friends,"

"And she doesn't…" I trailed off, glancing down at my hands mutely.

"Know anything? No, not yet at least. I'll leave that to you." he disappeared into the cupboards again, leaving me to think.

Gazing into space, I bit my lip. I missed my younger sister more than I could possibly say, I missed being woken up in the middle of the night because she had a nightmare, I missed hearing her endless chatter, and I missed the way she used to smile her gap-toothed grin at me from underneath her brown pigtails, her hazel eyes shining with amusement.

But I knew that our separation was for the best, even though it sometimes felt like a dagger in my back. She was safer with my uncle and I…I was better off alone.

My uncle squealed in delight attacking me with another hug and successfully pulling me out of my solemn thoughts. Even though my family was out of reach, I still had my friends to turn to and my uncle when he was in town.

So in a way, I guess, I wasn't _truly_ alone.

"That is so kawaii! You look like a little child, Nali-Chan. Why I remember when you were this high and…"

Prying him off me, I tuned him out, instead making a list of all the things I needed to do.

"This monkey came out of nowhere and of course I wasn't scared at all…"

_Ok, so I need to finish my art project, and then there's that essay I need to write…_

"And you were all "I shall retrieve it, Uncle!" but I didn't want you to go anywhere near this strange creature…"

_And I promised Mei I would do that favour…Sasha's food is also running low…_

"So you went down all these stairs, and I was so nervous for you but you were determined…"

_That reminds me, there's a sale on meat at the store tomorrow, maybe I should stop by?_

"And then I slipped on that evil banana! You've grown up so much over the years, dealt with so much! You've blossomed into a beautiful young girl and I'm sure all the guys bow before your feet at Ouran Academy! But I, your loyal Uncle, shall only approve the best for my precious niece!"

_But if I stop by I'll end up buying everything, and I'm still waiting for those results back from the hospital._

A bang brought me back to earth and I snapped to attention, watching stupefied as my uncle climbed onto the kitchen table and pulled a heroic pose.

"My niece deserves only the best! And I shall protect her with my life and until my dying breath…"

"Uncle…" I groaned, holding my head in my hands.

"I swear this by the great name of my forefathers! I shall protect you from the evil of this world!"

"UNCLE!"

He blinked at me slowly, once, twice. I mentally face palmed at his stupidity before crossing my arms over my chest, my left eye twitching in annoyance.

"Hai?"

"Get. Off. My. Table. Now!" I growled with a glare aimed to kill.

He clambered off sheepishly, scratching the back of his muddy blonde head.

"Nali-chan can be scary sometimes." he squeaked, hiding behind my kitchen chair.

I sighed, facepalming.

_Why me?_

I turned away from my uncle, exasperation etched across my features. Locating my ancient kettle and setting it to boil, I pulled two plain mugs from out the cupboard, turning my radio off as the host began to blabber on.

"Green tea is ok, right?"

"Green tea?" Yori pulled a confused face staring into the distance.

"Uncle!"

He snapped to attention, crossing his long arms across his chest. I raised an eyebrow, something wasn't right here.

"Hmmm, Green tea? Oh hai! That would be perfect my darling niece!" He settled down on the kitchen chair with a wide smile while I went back to preparing the tea.

Moments later, I placed two steaming mugs on the table, before taking a seat across from him.

"So how has school been?" He asked curiosity twinkling in his eyes. I sent Yori a curious look, something about my uncle was off.

"Normal, you know."

"And the bakery?"

I glanced up at my uncle as he calmly sipped his tea. Something was definitely off.

"Let's cut to the chase. I have the feeling you're back for more than just a catch up over tea, hmm?" I raised an eyebrow as my uncle flushed red and pulled at his t-shirt collar uncomfortably.

"Uncle, what's wrong?"

Yori sighed, visibly deflating.

"You're right, and as observant as usual." He paused, his voice was solemn.

Yori ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, his mouth set in a frown. He seemed so sad, and that's when I knew that something had happened. Something unspeakable.

"Your results came through,"

And here I thought this day couldn't get any worse.

"I'm sorry to inform you that the doctors confirmed the diagnosis. Unfortunately, they released this information to your aunt. News reached us this morning that she has moved forward with the case."

Time seemed to freeze, and a lump seemed to form in my throat. I swallowed thickly, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to fall.

_So this is what it has come to…_

"How long?" I whispered, my knuckles turning white from clutching the table so hard.

"The doctors said a year at most, although they have made significant progress with the treatment. You've got to understand, Nali, at this precise moment in time I have no idea how much evidence your aunt has gathered. And the treatment, well -"

I sighed, pushing my hair back and biting my lip. I knew this was going to happen and yet, I had hoped for so much more time.

I felt so stupid for ever believing I could fix this.

"I have the choice to choose the treatment, correct?"

Yori nodded his head solemnly.

I paused, before meeting Yori's calm gaze.

"You'll keep Mika-chan safe, yes?" The thought of my sister ending up alone in this world was not an appealing idea at all, and if it was because I failed her…it was not something to even bear thinking about.

"You have my word." He nodded.

"Then I'll take it,"

I smiled sadly at him, feeling the tears slipping down my face. He sprang out of his chair, pulling me into a tight hug and strangling me to death.

"I'm so proud of my precious niece! You are so strong in the face of desperation! Oh kawaiii!"

"Uncle!" I gasped, desperately trying to ignore the tears that were spilling out of my eyes.

He let go of me, holding me at arm's length, with tears in his own eyes.

"Your parents would be so proud." he whispered softly wiping my tears away.

"Ya think?" I rubbed at my sniffling nose.

"I know I am. Us Tanaka's need to stick together." he declared striking another pose.

I shot him another exasperated look, brushing my hair out my face.

"Uncle, you do know you're not a girl, right?"

He grinned at me, before flipping his shoulder length muddy blonde hair over his shoulder and cocking his hip to the side.

"But I would make a pretty girl, no?"

I laughed at him, while he pranced around the kitchen. Yori had this quality about him, something about him that made you smile no matter how down you were. He was always smiling, he was always there. He never let you fall, no matter how hard you tried or wanted to.

What had been a dimly lit kitchen with ancient equipment and the occasional pop art portrait was now a cosy kitchen filled with laughter and light. And that was Yori's full potential, the ability to change any situation and help you to see it in a different light.

"I'm not sure Aunt Neikan would approve."

He pulled a face at the thought of my formidable aunt, shaking his head.

"I don't need that old hag's permission for anything. I am my own person." He declared holding a regal pose.

"Suuuure, you don't." I rolled my eyes, with my arms crossed over my chest.

A glance at the clock alerted me to the late hour and I sighed. So much for a relaxing night. I stretched yawning.

"I'm going to head to bed, I have school tomorrow. You can bunk down in one of the guest rooms if you want."

He nodded solemnly, before turning back to the cupboards. Sensing that the conversation was over I turned to leave the kitchen only to be halted by Yori's voice.

"What happened to this family? We used to be so close and yet here we are torn apart."

"I guess that's life. The loss of loved ones does that sometimes. But we've got to smile, we've got to be strong for Mika-chan." I paused by the stairs and turned to face my uncle.

"Things can only get better from here, Yori. We have to look at the bright side of life and not focus on what could've been. Otherwise, we may forget to live ourselves."

Yori ran a hand through his ruffled hair with a proud grin.

"Such wise words from one so young."

I shrugged with a mischievous grin. It wasn't like I hadn't heard it before. In a family like my own you learned to grow up pretty quickly.

"I'll be leaving early in the morning; I need to return to your sister. I just came to deliver the news…" he trailed off.

"I'll be fine, Uncle. Just send Mika-chan my love." I knew my uncle worried about me, we had always been especially close and with all that was happening lately his worry had increased ten-fold.

"I promise that one day, things will be better for you Nali. You'll look back and you'll realise that all that is happening now made you stronger." Yori spoke softly, almost as if he was wishing it rather than promising it.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

I turned and sprinted up the stairs, my arms crossed over my torso as if I was shielding myself from something I couldn't see, tears spilling over.

I cried myself to sleep that night.

…

_The sun was setting in the distance, streaking the blue sky with orange and red, while whispering the promises of a new day and never ending night. Two small figures could be seen distantly on the top of a roof of a normal house, gazing up at the faint stars. A cool breeze circled the younger girl, as she swung her short legs over the edge of the rooftop, licking her vanilla ice cream quietly. Her facial expression conveyed her anxiety, something which her companion picked up on._

_"Why the long face, squirt?"_

_The girl bit her lip, before glancing up at the boy._

_"I'm scared, Hideaki,"_

_The older boy sent her a curious glance, before turning to face his sister._

_"What of?"_

_"What if they don't like me," The girl pouted childishly, staring down at her feet with wide eyes._

_The boy chuckled, ruffling her auburn hair. She scowled at him, clenching her tiny fists._

_"It's not funny Ki!"_

_The brother smothered his laughter, his brown eyes sparkling with amusement, before turning to face his younger sister with a grin._

_"I'm sure they will absolutely adore you. And if they don't, then they're not worth your time," Hideaki watched as his sister took this information in with a cute frown on her face, "What is it that dad always says?"_

_"Just be yourself," she recited with a serious expression._

_"Exactly! Don't worry your pretty little head about stupid things like that, remember: Focus on the positives and life will smile back at you, Nali,"_

_"You're right, Ki!" she turned to face him with wide vanilla covered smile._

_"I'm always right, squirt," He ruffled her hair before sprawling back on the roof and staring at the stars. His little sister was happy for the moment, until the next time she would need to turn to him for advice. He was after all her older brother and that's what older brothers were for, right?_

…

"NALI!"

A rude voice cut through my dreams and I grumbled, pulling the covers over my head, nestling down into the comfortable warmth.

"Nali, wake up you lazy bum!" The covers were pulled from my head and I opened one lone eye to glare at my intruder.

"What the hell, Mei!" I grumbled at my best friend, "I was having nice dreams for once,"

She smiled sweetly at me, ruffling my bed head. I knew she could see the tears stains on my cheeks and my red puffy face, but she either didn't want to ask or didn't care.

"You're going to be late for _school_!" she sang, flouncing out of my bedroom.

I scowled as she closed the door, running my hand through my fringe in a poor attempt to unknot my hair. Sasha looked up at me with knowing eyes and mewed softly. Tumbling out my bed, I stumbled to my feet. My gaze met my rumpled reflection who glared back at me.

The conversation from last night came back to me, and I wiped my face sleepily. The fact that Mei had awoken me and not my uncle told me that he had been true to his word and left early. Glancing down at my hands, I pondered briefly whether to tell Mei about Yori's news, before quickly discarding the idea. She didn't need to be weighed down by my problems, I could deal with this myself.

I let out a sigh, before turning to get ready for the day. Small parts of my dream came back to me as I trudged down the stairs sleepily, bringing a soft smile to my face. The memory of Hideaki's advice made me wonder if he knew that that particularly piece of advice would become helpful in later life. Maybe he did, or maybe he was just being helpful, whatever the reason those particular words had stuck by me.

_I'm trying to focus on the positives, Hideaki. I'm really trying._

Maybe the dream was a sign from my subconscious. A way of saying start focusing on the _now_ and not on the what ifs.

It was time to stop living for _them_ and start living for me.


	3. The What Club?

**Hello again, **

**I can't believe i managed to reach 100 hits! I just want to thank you, even you ghost readers and please stick with me while i write this :D , anyways so here is the third chapter and i hope you enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF OURAN HIGHSCHOOL HOST CLUB'S CHARACTERS OR PLOTS, THEY BELONG TO BISCO HATORI AND CO! **

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**Chapter 3 – The What Club?**

_She lives in a fairy tale_

_Somewhere too far for us to find_

_Forgotten the taste and smell_

_Of the world that she's left behind_

_It's all about the exposure the lens I told her_

_The angles were all wrong now_

_She's ripping wings off of butterflies_

_Brick By Boring Brick ~Paramore_

…

**NALI**

Time heals all wounds.

I had never really believed in that saying. Yes, it was true that as time passed old wounds scabbed over in an attempt to heal. However, scars always remained to remind you of the pain, and the wound.

I knew this better than most.

Once, I may have considered myself pretty. What girl didn't at least once in her life?

Before, a glance in the mirror would reveal gentle almond shaped hazel eyes with a green ring lined around the pupil and a kind smile hidden behind long auburn hair and a block fringe, pale skin with a gathering of freckling across smooth cheeks.

But now, the mirror reflected someone else. The long auburn hair was gone, it was now cut close to the chin with a fringe that swept across the right hand side of the face. Those hazel eyes that had once been gentle and inviting were guarded and cold like a blizzard in a barren wasteland.

Faint scars now marred the smooth pale skin, a remainder of the one thing I swore I would forget. Some were small, faint white lines that crisscrossed along the right side of my body. Others were thicker, puckered lines, the worst ran down the right hand side of my face, narrowly missing my eye, and stretching down my neck before curling around my collar bone.

Now when I looked in the mirror, I was someone else.

My father used to put all his faith in the future, and in the people we would be. I think in his head, he had it all planned out. He thought he knew how it would end.

Except, nobody can predict what the future holds.

My father certainly didn't. The future he dreamed of died the day he did.

A bang brought me back down to earth with a start. A windy breeze had forced the window off its latch and allowed it to slam closed. Tucking my paintbrush behind my ear, I returned to staring at my blank canvas, waiting for some kind of inspiration to hit me. So far, no luck.

"Hey, woohoo! Over here," a hand was thrust in front of my face and I jumped back startled.

_What the hell is wrong with me? I'm so jumpy today…_

"Off in La La Land I see. Here,"

I blinked owlishly at the large cardboard box that was currently blocking my view of the canvas. Carefully placing my palette down on the table, I eyed my friend gingerly. Her face was split into the kind of maniacal grin that had me questioning her mental state.

"What's this?" I raised an eyebrow.

Mei sighed exasperatedly, settling the box on her hip.

"You've forgotten, haven't you?" I gave her a blank look, wondering what the hell she was on about, "The Package for the Host Club, remember?"

Realisation hit me like a ton of bricks and I slapped the palm of my hand against my forehead.

"I'm so sorry! I completely forgot," Rolling her eyes at my sheepish look, Mei thrust the box at me again and this time I grabbed it, transferring it onto my lap.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. Just, please, remember to give it to Kyoya Ootori,"

I saluted her with a silly grin.

"No problem,"

"You're the best!" She gave me a quick hug before grabbing her stuff and sprinting out of the art classroom so fast I swear I could see a cloud of smoke rising from her heels.

I glanced down at the box in my lap curiously, before peeling it open and peering in. Dozens of roses nestled in pink tissue paper stared up at me. I could feel myself visibly deflating at the sight of the red buds.

_Red roses, how…cliché._

Shoving the box to one side, I set about tidying away my equipment. I paused in front of my blank canvas, chewing on my thumbnail thoughtfully. This art project made up a huge part of my grade, and I was counting on my grade to keep my place in Ouran. I wasn't an honour student for my great academic excellence, rather my artistic ability. However, I knew inspiration wouldn't hit me any time soon, so I turned away from the canvas and slipped my satchel over my shoulder, setting the box on my hip. I would just have to come back later to finish it.

Closing the door behind me, and making sure that the box was sitting safely on my bag, I set off in search of the Host Club.

And then I realised I had no idea where they were.

_Damn you Mei!_

…

After three bewildered looks, five rabid fan girls and one crazy guy (who I'm sure tried to kill me with his death glare), I finally got the directions to the Host Club's base. Who would've guessed that they met in an abandoned music room? I mean of all the places, a music room?

The corridors were eerily silent as I made my way along the top floor. I knew for a fact that the host club wouldn't open for another thirty minutes or so, so I had just enough time to slip in and slip out before finally being able to return to my project.

It should've been a piece of cake. Except for the fact that I couldn't seem to be able to summon enough courage to open the door.

I glared at the large doors with my arms crossed over my chest, the package sitting neatly on top of my satchel.

_Come on, Nali. Stop being such a wuss and open the damn door!_

I chewed on my thumbnail furiously. Gosh, I was such a baby, I couldn't even open a damn door.

Mentally pushing away that annoying voice in the back of my head and gathering my failing courage, I slowly pushed open the door. A sweet scented breeze blew dozens of rose petals into my face and I coughed.

I waved them away from my face, frowning. What was it with this club and roses?

Blinking, the last of the rose petals blew away and the room came into focus. It didn't really look all that different from any other classroom on this floor, the desks were of course missing and there was no classroom board. Instead elegant white tables were scattered throughout the room surrounded by rich red sofas.

But the room was as pink as ever, a popular colour in Ouran, with wide windows that look down onto one of Ouran's many courtyards. A breeze blew past me and my gaze was instantly drawn to the other occupants in the room.

A pair of red headed twins sprinted past me shouting about perverts while a tall blonde boy chased after them letting out a string of curses. Behind them sat a small blonde kid who looked vaguely familiar scoffing cake, and beside him sat a much, much taller dude, who was reading silently. The last was a smaller feminine looking guy with brown hair and large brown eyes who was studiously ignoring his chaotic company while making tea.

Shock had me rooted to the ground. Was this the legendary and courteous Host Club?

"Can I help you?"

A deep voice cut through my shock and I spun to face cold grey eyes behind slim glasses, perfectly combed black hair and a calm expression. He was handsome, that was true.

Somewhere in my head, I was melting into a puddle of unresponsive goo.

_Oh merde, what the hell am I doing? Stop staring you stupid buffoon, and speak! Say something for pity's sakes!_

"I…uh…"

_Wow, you really blew him away with that little speech of yours, huh?_

"If you would like to register with a host, I'd have to ask you to come back when the Host Club opens," He spoke coldly with a raised eyebrow.

His voice was deep and soothing and as handsome as his face was, but there was something about it. It sounded as blank and empty as his smile was. Was this Kyoya Ootori?

_Stop gawking at the Pretty Boy, and give him the damn package!_

He _was_ kind of pretty, and really easy on the eyes and…wait what? What the heck was I saying? I didn't even know the guy!

While my mind persevered with its nonsensical ramble, I continued to gape like a fish at the boy. I felt like banging my head off the wall until I started thinking straight.

"I…uh," _speak!_ "Have a delivery for Kyoya Ootori?" I thrust the box into his hands with a silly grin.

Thanking the heavens and all that was holy, I mentally sighed in relief.

"A delivery?" He glanced down at the box with a raised eyebrow.

_Oh jeez, he wants me to speak again._

"Uh yeah?" I answered hesitantly.

"You don't sound so sure?"

Was he…smirking at me? Jeez, even the great Ootori was mocking me.

"Umm, it's from the Gardening Club,"

He studied me for a moment and I squirmed under his gaze.

_Cute guy is creepy. _Very _creepy._

"Ah yes, I've been waiting for this delivery," He raised an eyebrow.

"Ooookay, well my job here is done. I'll be going then," I spun on my heel and headed towards the door.

"Wait!" I spun to face the Blonde idiot leaning into my face.

I blinked owlishly at him, wondering how he had gotten over here so fast. The twins he had been chasing were now openly staring at me with curiosity from behind one of the many red sofas.

"I've never seen you before." He stared at me, narrowing his violet eyes as if waiting for me to confess to a crime.

_For the love of all that is…_

"I…uh…Nali Tanaka," I thrust my hand forward putting space between us, and he stared at it curiously, before shaking it a little too enthusiastically.

The twins sniggered, and I scowled at them over the Idiot's shoulder.

"Nali Tanaka, second year class 2-A, honour student, currently living with her uncle and younger sibling Mika Tanaka," I glanced back at the creepy boy with a curious expression.

_Right, nice to know. Can I leave now?_

A tug on my hand made me return my attention to the Blonde idiot, much to the delight of my failing brain cells. I could feel them withering away as he introduced himself with a wide smile and sparkling violet eyes.

"Tamaki Suoh, second year and king of the Host Club. I don't believe I have ever had the pleasure of hosting you, my princess." He kissed my hand with a dramatic flourish.

So this was Tamaki Suoh, its amazing the things you don't notice about your classmates until you actually talk to them. I could feel my left eye twitching, and I was resisting the urge to throw him over my shoulder.

"That's because I've never been to the Host Club," I pulled my hand away from his ironclad grasp, trying to ignore the look of shock that lingered on his pretty face.

_Oh here we go again._ I could feel a headache coming on.

"You have never been to the Host Club! Why ever not!" He gasped dramatically.

He kind of reminded me of someone, although I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it was the way he spoke, or the way he acted that seemed so familiar?

Or maybe he was like this all the time and I had never really noticed.

"Because I believe it's run by arrogant rich idiots who can't tell their instant coffee from their tea bags, who do nothing but attempt to entertain a bunch of swooning airheads who have nothing better to do with their time," I paused slightly, "No offense,"

Tamaki paled, turning ashen and as white as a ghost. I blinked and he was gone. My brows furrowed and I spun around only to find him huddled in a corner, growing…were those mushrooms?

"Wow, you really got him good," a lean arm snaked around my shoulder, and I turned to find one of the twins smirking at me.

"But don't you think what you said was little bit too harsh," The other twin quickly found his way to my side a matching Cheshire grin on his face.

"I was only being honest," I shrugged crossing my arms over my chest with scowl.

What was with these idiots anyway? Have they never heard of personal space? I mean Jeez Louise, it's not that hard.

"We're the Hitachiin twins, by the way. I'm Hikaru," the twin on the right spoke up.

"And I'm Kaoru," The twin on the left finished.

"I would say that it's been a pleasure but I'm not gonna lie,"

Now that I got a better look at them, I'm pretty sure they were the twins that started that food fight last week, except I was so sure that one had pink hair and the other had blue hair. I cocked my head slightly, trying to think of the similarities between them. The twins stared me for a moment before turning to Creepy dude, who was writing in a tiny black notebook.

"We like her. Can we keep her as a toy?"

I scowled knocking the twins off of my shoulders. They stumbled forward, before landing on the ground rather ungracefully.

"I am not a toy." I growled, glaring down at them.

"Right." The one I thought was Hikaru smirked.

"Whatever you say." The other added with a casual shrug.

I could my eye twitching in annoyance, and the beginning of a very tiring headache coming on. Turning away from the twins, I glanced at my watch with grimace. The time was really catching up with me, and I had a ton of homework to do, not to mention the comfortable bed that was calling my name.

"Look, it's been fun, but I really got to go. I have things to do, people to see, you catch my drift?" I turned to leave once again.

"Mummy! That girl is being mean! We need to help her!" Tamaki snapped into action, gripping me tightly, and sending my satchel flying onto the floor.

_Mummy?_

"Dude! Do you mind?" I shook the arm he was currently attached to, but he didn't even blink.

"Fairest princess, you must accept our invitation to attend the Host Club tomorrow!" He knelt down in front of me, gripping my hand tightly.

I watched him with eyes wide with disbelief. Was he for real?

"All I ask is that you allow me to bask in your presence, my princess, if only for a short amount of time," He leaned uncomfortably close, and I placed a hand on his head.

"Does the words _personal space_ mean anything to you?" I asked pushing his head out of my personal bubble.

Next thing I know, my feet are dangling above the ground and Tamaki is looking up at _me_. Twisting around, I found myself looking at the taller senior who I was sure had been, just moments ago, reading his book on the red sofa with the tiny kid. I glanced behind the giant, and sure enough the tiny kid was still there scoffing his sweets.

I stared at my saviour curiously.

"Uh, thank you, senpai?"

"Hm," He placed me back on the ground, before crossing his arms over his chest.

_Who is this guy?_

"Uh, Mori, you didn't have to go that far. I wasn't hurting her!" Tamaki wailed from behind me.

"Ah," The one now named Mori said with no facial expression.

"It seems like boss was enjoying Nali-chan's company a little bit too much. What do you think Kaoru?" Hikaru popped up beside Tamaki who went pale.

"It certainly looked that way to me,"

"It wasn't like that you…you shady twins!" Tamaki cried, turning on the two.

The twins sped off shouting insults over their shoulders, while Tamaki chased after them cursing. As I watched them, totally astounded, sprint around the Club room, I felt someone stop beside me.

"Don't worry they're always like this,"

I blinked owlishly at the boy beside me, who was smiling kindly.

"Really?" I asked bewildered.

I'd nothing thought that a club like this could be so…so _weird_.

He nodded with a shrug, glancing at me briefly. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm pretty small for my age. And by pretty small, I mean dwarfed by every single person in the room (apart from the other senior who climbing up Mori senpai's shoulders). I barely reached five ft one.

And yes that extra inch makes all the difference.

"You get used to it, I'm Haruhi Fujioka by the way,"

"Nali Tanaka, I would shake your hand but you're holding a tray," I gave him a small smile which he returned.

"It's nice to meet you,"

I glanced up at him curiously. He seemed different from the others, almost kind of…girly.

"Unlike the rest of these bozos, it's been a pleasure,"

Hands latched down on my shoulders and a startled squeal escaped my lips. Someone spun me around and I was met with Tamaki's flustered face.

"Tell them it wasn't like that Nali-chan! Tell them!" he shook me slightly, and panic shot through me.

"I…uh…" My face was heating up as I spluttered.

Oh merde, someone kill me now. My inner self was banging her head off of a wall at my inability to form a sentence.

_Speak!_

"Gotta go!" I turned and sprinted out of the door.

The door shut with a slam behind me, which echoed throughout the empty hall. Sprinting round the corner, I hugged myself to the wall, panting. I glanced around the corner with wide eyes, but the corridor remained empty and silent. I let out a sigh of relief. At least they weren't following me, another quick glance at my watch revealed that it was close to their opening time.

That reminded me, where were all the Host Club's clients? Didn't they wait outside while the Host Club were preparing to open? Shaking away those thoughts, I slipped in my earphones, my fingers bumping against the forgotten paintbrush I had tucked behind my ear earlier on.

I almost groaned out loud at my own stupidity. I had willingly walked into their Club in my raggedy uniform, with a paintbrush behind my ear and streaks of paint covering my face. Was there any chance of the ground swallowing me whole at any point soon?

I paused by the window, watching as the rain bounced off the panes. Pressing my hand against the cool glass, I watched as the skies thundered, threatening an oncoming storm.

I couldn't help but wonder if what I had said to Yori last night was true. Had I stopped focusing on the past? Was I really moving on with my life, or was I stuck on what ifs and dreaming about what could've been if the accident hadn't happened.

Turning away from the window with a small sigh, I made my way down the corridor, unaware of the cool grey eyes that followed me or the larger frosty handprint that was left on the window where I had placed my hand just moments before.


	4. Negative Connotations

**Hey, so it's kinda obvious that people are enjoying the story, judging by the number of views and alerts I've got. But I would love to hear some of your thoughts on the story and how I'm doing etc. Anyways on with the story :)**

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**Chapter 4 – Negative Connotations**

_It's time to begin, isn't it?_  
_I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit_  
_I'm just the same as I was_  
_Now don't you understand?_  
_That I'm never changing who I am_  
_It's Time ~ Imagine Dragons_

…

**NALI**  
The clouds above me drifted by lazily, the grass beneath my fingertips was soft and the sun was shining. It really could've been the perfect day, if it wasn't from the incredibly annoying and loud snores that were escaping my best friend's mouth. My left eyebrow was twitching as I turned my death glare on Mei, who remained peacefully unaware of the many torturous ways I was planning on waking her with. She was lying face first in the grass, her normally perfect curly hair was a halo of frizz around her face, hiding the fact that she was probably drooling.  
Poking her in the side, I smothered my giggles as she grumbled and rolled over.  
"Mei," I tried shaking her gently, but she just swatted at me half-heartedly.  
Mei muttered under breath, before pulling her bag (which was currently disguised as a pillow) closer to her chest. Her dress was rumpled, and she had one sock higher than the other.  
"Mei!" I elbowed her and she shot up, her hair flying around her face.  
"What?!" she turned to scowl at me from underneath her block fringe, rubbing her face with a groan.  
"You were drooling," I informed her with a smirk.  
She groaned, falling back onto the grass. Ignoring her, I calmly pulled out my bento box, crossing my legs in order to get comfortable.  
"How long was I asleep for?"  
"About five minutes," I replied, digging around in my satchel for my chopsticks.  
My bag was a complete utter mess with empty crisp packets and battered textbooks buried at the bottom. It was falling apart by the seams, and I'd had to re-stitch it up so many times I had lost count. I just didn't have the heart, or the money, to replace it.  
"Aha!" I pulled the chopsticks out triumphantly, ignoring the bewildered look Mei shot me from where she was sprawled on the ground.  
"What the heck are you doing?" she asked me curiously.  
"Eating, duh," I unwrapped my box eagerly, popping open the lid and savouring the smell of my chicken fried rice.  
"Well keep it down, I'm trying to sleep here,"  
"You're just going to end up snoring again," I muttered between mouthfuls of rice.  
"You know I can't help it. My dad kept me out late last night, I didn't get much sleep," She rubbed her face with her hands sleepily, before glaring at the sun from underneath her hands as if it had offended her by shining.  
"How _did_ your big meeting go?" I asked curiously, twirling my chopsticks between my fingers.  
"About as well as could be expected," She muttered from behind her hands.  
"Of course, I forgot how these meetings usually go," I smacked my forehead mockingly, "You batt your eyelashes at them and make googoo eyes and kissy faces and all the men in the room fall at your feet, right?"  
"Oh no, you have uncovered my evil plan to take over the world! Whatever shall I do!" Mei exclaimed dramatically, holding a hand to her forehead.  
I snorted at her idiocy before returning to my lunch. Mei was one of the most dramatic people I knew, besides Uncle Yori of course. Although Tamaki was quickly catching up.  
I'd been dreading school this morning, another run in with the Host Club was something I really didn't need to deal with. And so upon my arrival to class, I had ducked under my table until the bell rang and had avoided Tamaki and Kyoya at all costs much to the bewilderment of my friend.  
Unfortunately Kyoya had quickly spotted me even with all of my sneaking about. Fortunately he didn't point me out to Tamaki, so in a way I guess my mission was a success.  
And now I was seriously considering a job as a spy. Although with my _skills_ it was unlikely to happen anytime soon.  
"What about your delivery?" Mei asked, cutting through the rendition of the James Bond theme tune in my head.  
"Meh," I replied noncommittally, skirting around the matter.  
_Don't let her know about the_ goo_ incident…or the running away!_ My inner self was jumping up and down with a frustrated face.  
"What exactly does _meh_ mean?" Mei sat up, eyeing me suspiciously.  
_Damn, she caught on to me._  
"It…uh…means…" It trailed off uncertainly, avoiding her gaze.  
My mind wandered to the encounter with the Host Club, my shoulders dropping in despair. It hadn't exactly been a normal meeting, although Haruhi had seemed nice though, and Kyoya didn't seem _that_ bad when he wasn't being creepy. And I certainly didn't think because he was devilishly handsome.  
Not that I thought he was devilishly handsome or that I even thought about him at all. Not even about his cool grey eyes, or the way his glasses had flashed in the light, or about his smirk.  
Nope, I hadn't thought about him at all.  
Although, now that I mentioned it, he certainly looked like a devil when he was doing the creepy staring.  
"Tanaka-kun?" A familiar voice asked from behind us, breaking through my thoughts.  
_Speak of the devil and he shall appear._  
"Haruhi?" I blinked up at the guy as he stood there awkwardly.  
Ok, so maybe it wasn't the exact person I was thinking about, but Haruhi was a host so it counted. Kind of.  
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the Host Club?" I asked tilting my head in confusion.  
Haruhi shrugged walking across the courtyard towards us, with a bento box in his hand.  
"I usually eat on my own. I find that the Host Club is easier to deal with in small doses," He smiled down at us kindly.  
"Oh," I replied stupidly as he towered over us.  
_What do I say? What do I SAY?!_ I tried not to repeat my gaping episode, but I was miserably failing.  
"Would you like to sit us?" I turned to face Mei, who had sat up and was now smiling at Haruhi with what I liked to call her "I'm-Planning-Something-Evil" grin.  
"I wouldn't want to intrude…" Haruhi trailed off uncertainly.  
"It's fine, it's not like we're doing anything important," Mei shrugged, keep her gaze concentrated on my lunch.  
"Don't even think about it," I muttered holding up my chopsticks threateningly. Mei rolled her eyes, and attempted to nab some of my lunch anyway. I smacked her with my chopsticks, scowling at her playfully.  
"Get your own lunch, Mei,"  
"I can't, I have no money aaaaand I forgot my bento," she whined hiding her face in her hands.  
"Idiot," I stuck my tongue out at her.  
"You can have some of mine," Haruhi offered as he sat down beside us on the grass.  
"Really?" Mei turned to him with sparkling eyes and I had to smoother my giggles at her adoring expression.  
Haruhi nodded hesitantly and Mei lurched forward with a squeal.  
I wondered if Haruhi knew what she had created. The relationship between Mei and food was a confusing one, to say the least. All I knew for sure was that you never get between Mei and food. Not unless you're in the mood to become a human sandwich.  
"Mei Sarutobi, by the way," She muttered between mouthfuls of food, "Nali's best and only friend,"  
Groaning at her frankness, I hid behind my hands. Haruhi probably already thought we were weird enough, she _really_ didn't need to know that Mei was my only friend.  
"You make me sound like a lonely cat lady," My voice was muffled underneath my palms and I glimpsed wearily at them between the gaps in my finger.  
Haruhi only chuckled at us, before holding out his hand.  
"Haruhi Fujioka," Mei shook his hand with a thoughtful expression.  
I mentally gulped at the look in Mei's eyes, suppressing the need to run away.  
_This doesn't look good._  
"So Haruhi, I was wondering…are you a girl?"  
My inner self keeled over anime style.  
"Mei! You can't go around asking people personal stuff like that!" I exclaimed, my eye twitching.  
"It's…okay," Haruhi stuttered nervously, "How ddid you figure it out?"  
Mei studied Haruhi, before shooting me a look as if it was obvious how she figured it out. Was it obvious? I mean, Haruhi had quiet feminine looking features, and large brown eyes and small hands but that didn't mean that…  
_Holy Crackers! Haruhi is a girl!_  
"It's kinda obvious, for one you don't have an Adams apple."  
Now that Mei mentioned it Haruhi looked nothing like a guy, except for her short hair. My inner self was banging her head off of a wall, wondering why we hadn't noticed this before.  
Haruhi wrung her hands together nervously.  
"You won't tell anyone will you?"  
"No," Mei replied shortly, giving Haruhi a look that clearly said _who would believe me if I tried_.  
"It's not our business why you dress like a guy," I added returning to my rice.  
"I owe the club eight million yen because I knocked over a vase,"  
"Eight million yen!" Mei shrieked, trying to add that up on her fingers.  
I let out a low whistle, while Haruhi looked sheepish.  
"I couldn't afford to pay them back, so I'm repaying my debt through hosting,"  
"Bbut, how did you get into the hosting in the first place? Surely they knew you were a girl?" Mei asked, leaning against her hand.  
"It's a long story,"  
"We've got time," I replied with a smile twirling my chopsticks in my fingers.  
Haruhi smiled before launching into her story. Mei and I listened on in enraptured silence, gasping at all the right moments.  
"So Tamaki really had no idea you were a girl?" I asked between mouthfuls of chicken.  
"At all?" Mei added with an astonished look.  
Haruhi shook her head with a grin as she thought back to Tamaki's expression.  
"His expression must've been priceless," Mei giggled while I grinned.  
Haruhi laughed with us, her brown eyes dancing with amusement. I guess the Host Club really wasn't all that bad, I mean Haruhi did look pretty happy when she was talking about them and their antics.  
_"Ain't it fun? Living in the real world, ain't it good? Being all alone…"_  
My phone blared loudly from inside my satchel and I lunged towards it. Rummaging through my bag, I withdrew my phone. **OOTORI MEDICAL** was spelt across my screen in large letters. Dread pooled deep in my stomach, this really didn't look good. I smiled sheepishly at my friends.  
"I have to take this. Do you mind?" The two girls exchanged a look before shaking their heads.  
As I accepted the call, I watched amused as Mei asked Haruhi how the club actually worked before they launched into a discussion.  
"Moshi moshi," I said trying to keep my voice steady.  
"Hello, I am looking for…Nali Tanaka. Is she available at the moment?" a soft voice floated through the phone.  
"Yes, this is she,"  
"We're just calling to confirm that you are free this Sunday at…one o'clock for the first of your appointments?"  
I froze baffled. When had I called to book an appointment? Hold on a minute…what was this appointment for?  
"I'm sorry?"  
"The appointment for the beginning of your treatment. Your uncle called ahead and booked a consultation with your doctor for this Sunday," the nurse stated in-between the rustling of papers and the dim background noise of the hospital.  
Oh, it was that kind of appointment. The conversation between Yori and I came rushing back, and I let out a sigh, massaging my temples exasperatedly.  
"Oh did he now?" I scowled deeply, causing Mei and Haruhi to glance up with curious expressions on their faces.  
I shook my head at them and they rather reluctantly returned to their conversation. The nurse seemed to realise my annoyance and quickly backtracked.  
"If you're not available at that time, I can reschedule your appointment?"  
"No, it's…fine," I sighed deeply, running a hand through my short hair, "But what exactly is it for?"  
"Nothing major, it's just a simple meeting with your doctor to explain what will happen next. You will also receive your medication, and any queries you have can be answered by your doctor,"  
"Will I need anything?" I asked curiously.  
"Not that I'm aware of dearie. Just bring yourself and any family or friends you may need for support," her voice was kind and she made it sound so simple.  
But I knew it was a lot more complicated than it seemed.  
"Thank you,"  
"It's no problem dearie, just ring this number if there any issues. Have a good day now," She hung up shortly after, a soft click echoing down the line.  
I let out a sigh I hadn't realised I was holding, staring down at the phone I was clutching tightly in my fist. This was really happening. A small hand was placed over my own and I glanced up to meet my friend's worried eyes.  
"Hey, are you ok?" Mei asked concern colouring her features.  
Swallowing my fear and my rising panic, I smiled at Mei and Haruhi. But it wasn't a real smile, it was empty, full of pain and hurt and worry.  
"I'm fine, it's just this thing my uncle wants me to do on Sunday," Mei shot me a disbelieving look but I shrugged her off, "Honestly it's nothing important,"  
"If you say so," Mei murmured glancing at me suspiciously.  
I gave her a big grin before tucking into my bento. I needed to lock away my thoughts about this Sunday, for now. No one else needed to know what was going on. Like I said, I could deal with this on my own.  
"So, uh Nali, Tamaki mentioned something about you coming to the Host Club today?" Haruhi broke the silence that had fallen on us.  
I choked, sending her a panicked look. Mei hit me on the back and I coughed slightly.  
_What the hell is she on about?_  
"What?"  
"Uh you didn't know?" She asked her eyes wide.  
Shaking my head furiously, I leaned towards her with a raised eyebrow.  
"What exactly did he say?" I asked, while Mei looked on with a baffled expression.  
"Something about special treatment,"  
"OH man," I groaned flopping back onto the grass.  
I was never going to look at the word _treatment_ the same ever again. It had way too many negative connotations.  
Haruhi let out a giggle, while Mei mouthed "special treatment" at me. I just sighed slapping my hands over my eyes in exasperation.  
I could pretend to be fine for now. But I knew that the situation would catch up with me. I only had so much time.  
And as Mei began to interrogate Haruhi about my meeting with the Host Club and said girl stammered apologies, I could almost see the beginning of a new unlikely friendship.

...

The corridors were devoid of life as I strolled through them after school. Imagine Dragons pounded through my tiny earphones, and I mouthed along to the words.  
After the phone call at lunch, things had settled down and Mei and I had really gotten to know Haruhi. She was a frank girl but incredibly oblivious, something I worked out quite quickly. I found myself grinning as I remembered the way Mei had interrogated her for details about the Host Club and then how she had ruthlessly teased me about my clamming up in front of Kyoya.  
However after lunch, we had gone our separate ways, Haruhi to her first year class and Mei and I to modern history, much to Mei's great delight. It was another subject she loathed due to the failing relationship between her and our ancient teacher. She said that it was because he didn't understand her view of the world; He said it was because she didn't understand the concept of homework.  
There was a cry from behind me, pulling me back to earth and I glanced over my shoulder curiously. My eyes grew wide with shock and I froze.  
The Hitachiin twins were walking towards me, their eyes glancing around curiously. Haruhi's words from earlier came back to me in a flash.  
_"…Tamaki mentioned something about you coming to the Host Club today…"_  
A startled squeal left my lips, and I leapt into action, ducking behind a corner quickly. I watched with wide eyes as they walked past my hiding spot, muttering to themselves.  
"Those girls back there mentioned something about the library, maybe we should check there?" One of them muttered, glancing in the direction of the only library on this floor.  
"I don't really care to be honest, let's just find the girl and get back to boss," The other muttered, crossing his arms behind his head with a yawn.  
I tilted my head as they spoke, trying to figure out which one was which. I think Hikaru was the one with the parting to the left? Or was that Kaoru?  
Holding my breath, I clung to the wall like it was a shield until I could no longer hear their footsteps. A quick glance around the corner confirmed my hope, revealing that they had in fact passed by. I let out a sigh, clutching my satchel close to my chest and walking backwards.  
Biting my lip, I couldn't help but wonder why Tamaki wanted to see me so badly. I was just a girl who he had talked to for less than a few minutes, I wasn't anything special.  
Suddenly, my back banged into something solid and I bounced back with 'oomph'.  
_Exactly why am I staring at the ceiling?_  
"Miss Tanaka?" Kyoya's face came into view and I shot up.  
I blinked owlishly at the boy from where I sat on the ground. He simply stared back down at me, his glasses flashing in the light.  
"Uh hi?" I said uncertainly as the boy held out a hand.  
"May I inquire as to what you were doing?" he asked as he helped me to my feet.  
_Quick think of an excuse!_ My mind fumbled with what to say, and I blurted the first thing that came from my muddled head.  
"Um, I was uh trying to moonwalk?"  
My inner self keeled over, a feeling of desperation falling over us. _Out of all the excuses you could've used and that's what you come up with?_  
"You were trying to moonwalk," He repeated with that stupid smirk on his face.  
_Great…just great, now he probably thinks I'm crazy._ I thought wryly.  
I nodded dumbly with a stupid smile on my face. He simply raised an eyebrow, while I let out a nervous chuckle. It wasn't like this situation could get any worse, right?  
"I…uh like to practice in my um free time," I said, scratching the back of my awkwardly.  
"Right," He muttered watching my blankly.  
"Well, I better be going and continue with my uh…practice. He he," I began to back up once again, anything to get away from his deep stare.  
I turned to leave, congratulating myself on an awkward but successful getaway when Kyoya spoke up.  
"Miss Tanaka," I glanced at him over my shoulder, "I do believe Tamaki is looking for you, and you won't be able to _practice your moonwalking_ for forever,"  
_I knew it,_ I thought sadly, _he saw right through me._  
But it wasn't as if I expected anything less from the great Kyoya Ootori.  
"I can definitely try," I replied with a shrug, "After all I have perfected the art of being completely invisible,"  
"Tamaki isn't likely to give up any time soon,"  
"And exactly how would my presence at the Host Club benefit any of you?" I asked wryly with a raised eyebrow.  
Kyoya remained silent, studying me with his cool, calculating eyes. He towered over me, so I had to stretch a little to see him properly. You'd have to be a fool to not instantly recognise that the Ootori boy in front of me came from money. It was subtle things, but things that were easy to recognise. It could've been the way he held himself, or the way he looked. It could've been the intelligence that swam in the depths of his cool grey eyes.  
Now, I wasn't the kind of girl to blush when a cute guy met her eye. I was, in fact, more likely to scoff and pull a face. But the look that Kyoya was giving me, well let's just say it was enough to make any girl blush to her roots right down to her toes and then to her roots again.  
And for a second I could've sworn…  
Kyoya Ootori was a paradox, several layers of dark brooding wrapped in an irresistible sweet layer of wealth and charm.  
We looked away at the same time, and the moment, whatever it had been, ended.  
Oh yes, Kyoya Ootori was a paradox alright. And one I was itching to solve.  
"Just what I thought," I muttered when he didn't reply.  
Turning from the still stoic Kyoya, I began to make my way down the hallway. I paused however by one of the classroom doors to face him once again.  
"I'll see you around Kyoya,"  
I could feel his eyes on me as I continued down the hallway, but I didn't look back. I had much bigger things to be worrying about than Kyoya Ootori. But right now, a plate of gumbo, a warm sofa and a cheesy romantic comedy were calling my name.  
And who was I to resist?


	5. Unravelling Threads

**Oh golly gosh, I really did not expect anyone to review, and the fact that so many of you did mean so much. I just want to thank you all and everyone who has taken the time to read my story :)**

**Sorry for the wait by the way, I had some technical malfunctions but here's the fifth chapter for you my pretties! All comments are appreciated!**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Unravelling Threads**

_You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve_

_And I have always buried them deep beneath the ground_

_Dig them up; let's finish what we've started_

_Dig them up, so nothing's left unturned_

_Flaws ~ Bastille_

…

**NALI**

I had always been the kind of girl who was many things. Quiet, smart, thoughtful, hurt, angry and locked away in my own world. I never shared my problems, I kept them hidden away, locked in box tied in chains and padlocks that had no key.

Whenever it looked like I was taking a step forward, I took two steps back. I tried to move on with my life many times. I forced a smile, a laugh, a bad joke and plain stupidity.

We all wear masks, we're all afraid to be judged for who we are and the things we do. The mask I wore just happened to hide me the best it could from the world.

I sighed into the coffee I was nursing in my hand. Rain pelted against the window of the coffee shop I was huddled in, making the world outside seem grey and cold in comparison to the cosy, warm atmosphere of the bustling shop.

A few days had passed since I had bumped into Kyoya in that corridor, and so far neither Tamaki nor the Host Club had bothered me. Except, of course, Haruhi who had become a permanent fixture in Mei and I's little group. I was glad to say that I considered her a great friend, and we had become exceptionally close.

I glanced down at the sketchpad that was spread on my lap. Several still figures lay on the page before me, including Mei and the Host Club. They looked back up at me, from various different positions. Tamaki was entertaining a swooning guest, Kyoya was typing at his laptop, the twins were teasing Haruhi, and Honey was on top of Mori shoulders, Usa-chan clutched under his arm.

I smudged the lines of my sketches slightly, with a grin.

"They're really good,"

Twisting to face the smirking smile of an old friend, I grinned. He was leaning over my shoulder, his eyes twinkling with mirth and pride and his mussed up hair covering his face.

"Uh, thanks," I eyed him suspiciously, he had seen my drawings before so for him to comment on them so suddenly was immediately deemed suspicious behaviour.

"Do you have any more of these people, of whom I have never seen before?" He asked leaning forward curiously.

I studied him with a scowl, something was definitely suspicious about his behaviour. My guess was that he was being his usual nosy self, but I was still wary of his actions.

"Ok, Kito, speak now,"

He shot me an innocent look, before launching himself over the sofa to settle down beside me.

"Whatever do you mean, my precious lily," He asked, batting his brown eyes at me.

"You're being suspicious," I stated bluntly, placing my sketchbook to one side.

"Is it really that suspicious to be interested in an old friend's prodigal drawings?" He asked pouting like a child and flicking his annoying fringe to the side as it draped into his eyes.

"Yes,"

He crossed his arms over his shirt and huffed out in exasperation. Kito was dressed in his usual uniform of a plain tshirt, ripped jeans and the green apron that indicated very clearly that he worked here.

"You're so mean to me, Nali-chan," The guy in question whined childishly, while I scowled.

We stared at each other, daring the other to blink. Kito had been old friends with Hideaki, they had grown up together and he was almost like another brother to me. When he left high school, my uncle very graciously offered him a job at the bakery/coffee shop until his company finally took off. He blinked his puppy eyes at me and I cursed silently although I had won our little match.

Like I said, I can't resist the power of puppy dog eyes.

"Fine," I scowled, passing the pad to him as he cheered.

He began to flick through the pages, sketches of my classmates and of Ouran itself flipping before his eyes. Kito's eyes sparkled with interest, his fingers tracing the blurred lines of the still figures that covered the pages.

"Woah Nali, these are so lifelike," He breathed enchanted by the drawings.

I coughed uncomfortably, my cheeks flaming.

Art had always been a way for me to escape. When I was drawing nothing else mattered, plus it was fun. It had been my mum that had taught me all the tricks of the trade.

My mother had been studying art when she met my dad. She always said that it was love at first sight for her. Not so much for my dad, but he always claimed he was young and stupid at the time, and it wasn't until he got some sense knocked into him that he realised what he was missing out. And I mean he literally had the sense knocked into him. My mum actually knocked him out. Accidentally of course, or that's how the story goes.

The pages flickered before us, the drawings morphing from unknown classmates to Mei and then to Mika. Kito soaked in the images with a childlike wonder that was hard to not smile at.

"Oh, Nali," He whispered, frozen on a new page.

Kito's voice brought me back down to earth, and I quickly glanced down at the page he was studying so intently. Hideaki grinned up at me with his usual charming smile. He'd never really gotten into art the same way as I had. He preferred to pose for me rather than actually draw.

Whenever I had asked him about it, he had skirted around the question neatly deflecting with casual ease. I think it reminded him too much of mum, and those memories weren't always particularly pleasant.

Memories of your lost ones never are.

"I'm not talking about it, Kito," I muttered, turning the page.

"Nali," His hand caught mine and I shot him a fierce glare.

His eyes were full of concern, and I had to look away from the intensity of the look.

"You know I'm here, if you ever…"

"I know but I won't," I cut him off quickly, practically shoving the pad onto his lap in my haste to remove the image of Hideaki that was currently burned in my mind.

He sighed, before returning to the pages. It's true when they say that your loved ones never leave you, there will always be things to remind you. No matter how hard you want to forget sometimes.

I breathed into my swirling coffee, my mind wandering to the picture of Hideaki. The time we had visited our grandparents, and we had gone to the local festival, which Hideaki, being Hideaki, had loved.

He had been such a child that night, and that's when I learned it was ok to be yourself. And just seeing that childish grin in my head, and remembering all the cheesy one-liners and slaps he had got that evening made me smile. I wasn't wrong when I had said that the things we remember about the ones we had lost were painful to remember, but sometimes the memories made you smile, like the flipside of a coin.

"Ok, if you won't talk about that, tell me about your newest subjects,"

Kito's voice broke through my reverie and I glanced up at him with a confused frown.

"Huh?" I asked, ignoring him when he slapped his hand onto his forehead.

"The mysterious guys who you refuse to speak about," he stated clearly, flipping through my sketchpad before landing on the pictures he was searching for.

The pictures of the Host Club that I had doodled in boredom now glared up at me, and I could feel my cheeks flushing. In some ways, Kito was more overprotective than my uncle. Sure he didn't go about jumping on tables and swearing he will protect my "innocence" from unworthy boys, but he certainly had his _macho_ moments, much to my great delight and embarrassment.

"You're blushing,"

"No…I uh…I'm not?" I floundered for a moment, ignoring my inner self as she repeatedly banged her head off a wall.

"You are, and now you're stuttering," Kito's eyes darkened and he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

_Quick, distract him!_ I grasped for a change in subject, realising that I was walking on thin ice. Kito in protective mode was something I really didn't want to have to deal with. _Especially_ today of all days.

"Uh…did you know that the word blush is blood rush merged together?" I stated quickly, trying to casually snatch my pad away from his prying eyes.

Kito, however, was having none of it and kept a firm grip on the pad. His dark eyes studied me as I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seat, avoiding all eye contact.

"Explain,"

I gulped, pulling at my loose tie. We both knew that we had reached an _impasse _of sorts. He knew I wasn't going to budge and I knew that he wasn;t going to give up anytime soon. I swear he was an overgrown child at some points.

"I'm not telling you," I stared at him defiantly, my arms crossed over my chest in irritation.

"Really now," He smirked down at me and I couldn't help but scowl.

I wasn't going to say a word. Not even a syllable.

_Keep my mouth shut, zipped locked and under…_

"They're just a bunch of guys I know from school," The word vomit escaped my lips before I could think about pushing them back down.

My inner Nali keeled over with an exasperated groan. Kito looked smug for a moment, before confusion flashed acorss his face, shortly followed by annoyance.

_There goes my impasse,_ I thought wryly as I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

"Do I need to talk to any of these _guys_," Kito spoke as if the last word had mortally offended him.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

_Please don't say it. Please don't say it. Please don't…_

"Are you involved with any of these men?"

"…"

My soul drifted above my body, as I stared slack jawed at the boneheaded idiot before me. My face flamed brighter than a red tomato and I stuttered, gaping at Kito for a few moments before I erupted like Mount Vesuvius.

"EH!?" I cried, flailing my arms, "What kind of question is that?!"

"A perfectly reasonable one," He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're such a…such a…grrr!" I slapped his shoulder, turning away from him with a huffed out sigh.

HE snorted at my behaviour, rolling his brown eyes playfully. Leaning against the back of the sofa comfortably, Kito placed his hands behind his head, before glancing back at me.

"It's was a perfectly innocent thing to ask, you're the one who overreacted," He pointed out, as I whipped around to face his satisified girn.

Much to my chagrin, I had to admit he was right. But the day I actually told him that, was the day hell would freeze over and pigs would fly over the moon. Glaring at him,I rose to my feet before moving over to the comfy armchair, away from his smirking presence.

"I swear Mika is better behaved than you sometimes," I muttered as I tucked my legs underneath myself.

"You lurve me really!" he sang with a cocky grin as he waved my sketchpad above my head tauntingly.

I grabbed it easily, pulling it from his slimy grasp. Shaking my head at his immaturity, I shoved all my stuff back into my satchel. I threw my bag over my shoulder as Kito stood, towering over my tiny self.

_Curse my tiny height._

"If you must know, they're a Host Club and one of them is a friend," I informed him frankly.

"A Host Club?" He asked with wide eyes, as he followed behind me.

I mentally rolled my eyes. Trust him to fixate on that fact that they're a Host Club and not on the fact I had made a new friend. What happened to the whole "Make-New-Friends" speech he always drummed into me?

"That's what I said too, but their actually ok," I murmured with a small smile.

If I had been paying attention maybe I would've noticed the smug grin on Kito's face, or the hope that sparkled in his eyes. But I was too wrapped up in my own little world to notice this, it seemed like I missed a lot these days.

You've probably guessed by now that I'm not really that observant.

"Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me the whole story?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, as I slipped onto one of the stools in front of the bar.

"The whole story? Who said there was a story?" I mocked clasping my hand to my forehead, as he pulled himself over the bar with one arm.

The swooning sighs of the female customers echoed around the room and Kito's face lit up in a smirk. I rolled my eyes at his ego, and at the airhead customers that were currently oogling the man I considered my brother. Clasping my hands to my neck, I pretended to gag while Kito just glared with an exasperated sigh.

"Are you done?" He asked, resting a towel on his shoulder as he slid a slice of brownie my way, "'Cause I want to hear this story,"

My eyes lit up at the sight of the sugary delight, and I bit into it eagerly. Brownies had always been a specialty of my family, made with a sprinkle of love and a super-secret recipe that had been handed down the generations, from my grandmother to my mother to me, and then to my uncle. Yori's Bakery wasn't well known in Bunkyō, Tokyo for no reason.

"It's not really a big deal," I told him through mouthfuls of delicious brownie, "I covered a delivery for Mei that just happened to go to the Host Club and I bumped into them. Their king guy is a bit demented on getting me to visit because he thinks I'm missing out, or something along those lines,"

Kito frowned, his brows drawn down in confusion. I remained blissfully unaware of Kito's expression, happily munching away on the brownie.

"Missing out?" His voice drew my attention away from my treat and back to him.

"Uh, yeah, I've never been before. But I don't think he's gonna give up any time soon,"

"How'd you know that?" Kito asked, smiling as a customer thanked him before leaving the shop.

"I uh might of bumped into his friend the other day. And he may of said something about the guy being really stubborn," I muttered my mind wandering back to the encounter with the mysterious Ootori boy.

Something about that meeting had been bugging me. It wasn't their persistence, because avoiding Tamaki and his cronies couldn't have been easier. It was almost as if, I had wanted there to be a benefit to me going to the club. As if I wanted to have a reason.

Which was stupid, because I wasn't interested in wasting my time at that stupid club, surrounded by swooning cream puffs and filled with utter boredom.

Right?

"You might of bumped into him?" Kito asked, and I shrugged sheepishly, "Is he the reason you've been mopey all week?"

I froze, before shaking my head. I couldn't deny that the meeting had been on my mind, but it wasn't the reason my mood had been completing one-eighty turns all week.

"If that's not the reason, then why don't you go?" I glanced up at him with a groan.

"What part of Host Club equals swooning girls and utter boredom, do you not get?"

"Stop being so stubborn," He said, as rolled my eyes and took another bite of brownie.

"I'm not being stubborn, I just have better things to do with my time," I told him, swallowing the chocolaty treat.

He snorted, and I glared at him placing the precious remains of my brownie on the plate in front of me. And he was trying to tell me _I_ was the stubborn one.

"What like study your brains out?" Kito leaned on the counter, reaching my eye level, "There's more to life than school, Nali-Bali,"

"So you're basically saying to go to this club and die of utter boredom?" I asked him in disbelief with a confused frown.

He flicked my forehead, and I scowled rubbing the spot.

"You can't say it's boring if you've never been," He stated, snatching my plate away which I let out a protest about.

"Hey I wasn't finished with that!" I exclaimed, trying to stretch forward to save my brownie.

Kito dumped my plate next to the sink before turning to face me with a serious expression. I pouted at him, ignoring the twisting in my stomach. When he got serious, I knew that I needed to pay attention because such moments were rare for Kito.

"Nali, you need to broaden your horizons. You can't go through the whole of High School with only one friend and spending almost all of your free time either here or studying,"

"Hey, I told you I made another friend this week!" I protested, scowling. Kito only shook his head letting out a sigh and glancing up at the ceiling as if looking for help.

_Good luck with that buddy, been there, tried it, got the frickin' tshirt._

"You just don't get it Nali. You need to stop hiding behind your mistakes and living in the past," His words caused me to freeze and a shiver ran down my spine, "You need to start living in the _now_ and for yourself. Not for Yori, not for me, not for your aunt, and _especially_ not for Hideaki,"

Silence settled between us and I kept my gaze glued to the cool wooden surface underneath my fingertips as I drew invisible patterns. Kito let out a sigh, and I tried not to flinch at the disappointment I could hear from him.

I had told myself that I would start living. And yet, I couldn't seem to be able to do it. I was treading on thin ice, unsure whether I would make it to other side without slipping underneath the frozen water and drowning in the icy waves that threatened to pull me under.

"Kito!" The voice of one of my uncle's chefs drifted from the kitchen and we both glanced towards the open door behind the bar, "We need you in the kitchen!"

I met Kito's gaze, uncertainty swirling in the depths of his chocolate eyes. He didn't want to end this conversation but he knew he was needed elsewhere.

"I'll think about it," My voice murmured softly.

Kito's brown eyes studied me carefully, before he nodded at me briefly with a small smile. I watched as he turned and walked into the kitchen, a small grin twitching at my lips.

My gaze fell down to my clasped hands that were resting on the bar. My thoughts wandered away from the Host Club to my impending appointment on Sunday. Neither Kito nor Mei knew what was happening, and it was going to stay that way. Despite many offers from Yori, I had decided to go solo. I refused to burden anyone with my problems, and if could have it my way my uncle wouldn't even know about what was going on. The only other person privy to what was going on was my nosy Aunt, and my fists clenched at the thought of the horrible hag.

_Evil witch, poking her nose where it doesn't belong._

My aunt and I had never really seen eye to eye, and not just because of my failing height. She was my father's only sibling, and the complete polar opposite of everything he ever was. Daichi Tanaka was one of the bravest men I ever knew, he almost always had a smile and a twinkle in his eye that never seemed to diminish, no matter how angry he got at us. He was my idol and everything I had ever needed as a single parent. My aunt Neikan, however, never smiled, except for that stupid smug smirk that only graced her face when something went her evil way. She despised my siblings and I with a furious passion that both baffled and sickened me.

She was the wicked witch of the west to my Dorothy.

A sudden slam had me jumping in my seat, drawing me from my dark thoughts. Several heads turned to face the now open door, and I turned to see the last person I expected to see.

Mei stood dripping in the entrance to the cosy shop, her long brown hair was tangled and wet, her normally smiling eyes narrowed and fury was radiating from her, like an evil aura. The door slammed shut behind her as she stepped in, her heated gaze sweeping over the shop before finally landing on me. My stomach twisted uncomfortably, but I stuck a grin on my face and waved at her.

Her eyes narrowed further, as she walked over to me calmly, the sound of her shoes squeaking across the smooth barely audible above the din of the busy coffee shop.

"Mei, what are you -"

_SLAP._

Blood rushed to my cheek as it began to sting, my shocked gaze now resting on the other side of the now silent shop. My hand covered my left cheek shakily as I turned to face my friend, who was shaking in anger.

"Mei?" I whispered hoarsely, my eyes wide with horror, "What?"

"You lied!" she shouted, her grey eyes flashing with hurt.

"What...what are you talking about?!" I exclaimed, rising to my feet, my own eyes narrowed.

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about," She spat, and I froze as realisation hit me.

She _knew_. She knew the last thing I wanted her to know. The one thing I had fought to keep from her and she had found out.

"How…" I trailed off weakly.

"I bumped into Yori on my way home from Club," She stated, and my eyes widened, "He asked me if I was going with you on Sunday. I had no idea what he was talking about, until he explained everything,"

We stared at each other for a moment, my small frame frozen with fear and Mei's eyes narrowed in fury and hurt. I hadn't meant for her to find out, I just wanted to lock away all my secrets, all my worries, so that no one would ever find out the deep dark scars that still remained of my past.

"I…"

"You _promised_ me. You promised that if it ever came back, that if you were ever ill again you would tell me," Mei hissed, her fists came down on the table with a bang.

"I didn't want to burden you," I murmured softly, my gaze dropping to the floor.

"You didn't want to burden me! _Burden me_!" She shrieked, "I _cannot_ believe you!"

"What's going on?" Kito's head popped out of the kitchen, his ruffled brown hair falling into his face.

Before I could so much as utter a word, Mei had spun around to face him, her hair flying around her face.

"Has she told you?" She demanded Kito, who just glanced at her with a confused expression before turning to me.

"What is she on about?" he asked, stepping into the room.

"I…Kito…"

"She's ill again," Mei interrupted me, "And she hasn't told _anyone_,"

Kito turned to me his eyes wide, I watched helplessly as they narrowed. And I watched as the carefully constructed walls I had built around myself cracked, and shattered before my very eyes.

"What?!" He snarled fury etched across his features.

"She;s telling the truth," My voice rang out in the silence that had now descended between us.

Kito's gaze turned from me to Mei before landing on me again. He stepped forward, his hands clamping down on my shoulders tightly, as I stared up at him defiantly, my face a blank mask.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" He shook me slightly, and I looked up at him fear twisting in my gut, despite my stoic features.

"I didn't want anyone to know," I met his gaze evenly, rage running through me as I tuned out the whispers of our audience.

"For god sakes, Nali," He let go of my shoulders, running a hand through his hair briskly, "I made a promise. I promised your brother I would do anything within my power to keep you safe,"

"I'm not sorry,"

"I can't believe you. Could you be any more _selfish_?" Mai spat, "Do you know what I can't stand the sight of your face at this moment,"

"Mei!" I took a step to follow her, but she spun to face me.

"Save it, Nali. I really don't want to hear it," She walked away, slamming the shop door behind her.

Kito grabbed a hold of my arm, stopping me from chasing after her. I tugged on his hold, but Kito simply spun me around to face him.

"Nali, how are we supposed to look after you, if you won't tell us anything," Kito said, staring at me seriously.

A million different emotions were reflected in his brown orbs and tried not to let my mask slip. I couldn't let him see how much this was affecting me, I had to be strong.

"I just didn't want you to worry," I murmured lamely.

He sighed exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair. Hot tears began to fall down my face before I could stop them, leaving salty trails on my pale face.

"We're going to worry any way, you daft cow," he pulled me into his arms, and I buried my face into the crook of his neck as I began to sob.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry,"

Kito's arms tightened around me as the tears continued to fall. I couldn't help but think that the hope that I could move on had been swept from underneath my feet. The past is all I had now, there was no future left.


	6. Numbered Days and Endless Nights

**Hello again, I must sincerely apologise for my tardiness with this chapter. I truly have no excuse except this chapter was like hell to write and rewrite and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. Grrr. Anyways, I hope this clears up ****_some_**** of your questions, leave a comment if you wish and any questions which I may or may not answer mwhahaha.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own OHSHC and never will.**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Numbered Days and Endless Nights**

_Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear._

_And I can't help but ask myself how much I'll let the fear_

_Take the wheel and steer._

_It's driven me before,_

_And it seems to have a vague,_

_Haunting mass appeal._

_But lately I'm beginning to find that I_

_Should be the one behind the wheel…_

_Drive ~ Incubus_

_..._

**NALI**

The hospital had always scared me.

Maybe it was the ominous squeak of footsteps on linoleum, warning you of the approaching staff. It could've easily been the stench of chemicals that assaulted your nose, or the promise of death and pain that seemed to linger in every corner.

But it was the blandness of the building itself, that frightened me. The way each room, ceiling, and floor was the same, be it a chair or a desk you saw the blank colour everywhere you looked.

The colour didn't hide monsters in its shadows, nor did it dispel the horrors that could be so easily found in the dark.

It was the colour I dreaded the most.

"Miss Tanaka?"

A soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see a nurse standing in front of me, a fake smile plastered across her perfect face. Her eyes lingered on the scars that crossed my face, her eyes dancing with an emotion I easily recognised as pity.

"Yes?" my voice was hoarse, my face a blank mask, hiding the emotion, the _fear_, I had pushed aside.

"Your prescription is ready," The pretty nurse didn't drop her sickening smile, instead she held a small paper bag that was marked with the Ootori logo.

I took it from her hands as I rose to my feet steadily, throwing my bag over my shoulder haphazardly. The paper was cool and smooth under my fingertips, a subtle contrast with the harsh crackling sound it made as my grip tightened.

"Have a nice day," The nurse chirped before turning and hightailing it back down the corridor.

Twelve letters, three spaces, four words. Glancing down at the horrid paper bag I was clutching, distaste pooled in my mouth. I hated medication.

With a sigh, I brushed my hair away from my face, my hazel eyes lifting from the bag to the door as I made my way out of the bland building, leaving that taunting clinical gleam and stumbling out onto the familiar grey tarmac. The sky above me thundered, and I glanced up to see rolling grey clouds that threatened to drench me in rain.

Pulling the jacket tighter around myself, I pushed my feet forward trudging down the familiar path that would take me back home.

Sometimes I felt the battle with my illness was like a giant tug of war. On good days, I would be pulling the rope, and getting closer to toppling it over the edge and into the abyss below. On bad days, I was the one standing on the knife's edge stuck between being brave and desperately just wanting to give into the pain.

Most days I could just shrug it off and pretend. But I hated it, I despised having to lie to those around me because I didn't want to burden them with my inner battle.

Death had been plaguing me for as long as I could remember, he had marked my soul as his long ago. He was just waiting for the day that we would greet each other as equals at the end of that dusty road.

And although, I had realised how it was going to end, I was still scared. Not scared of Death, or of the pain he would bring with him, but scared of leaving people behind, scared of missing out on all those things I would never get to experience.

My sneakers slapped against the concrete, my head bowed in thought. Unfortunately my lack of attention caused me to crash into the last person who wanted to see me at the moment. Or so I believed.

I stumbled back a few steps after the impact, a soft _'oomph'_ escaping my parted lips. I caught myself before I crashed onto the pavement, my eyes snapping up to face the person I had bumped into.

"What the hell?" The girl I had bumped into was rubbing her head, and I found that whatever harsh words I had been about to unleash were now stuck in my throat, "Watch where you're going, idiot,"

Narrowed grey eyes focused on my frozen and shocked form, before they widened, perfect lips falling open in a soft _'o'_. And then suddenly, the figure was rushing towards me so fast I found I couldn't follow her movements. The girl crashed into me, her seemingly small arms wrapping around me in a bone crushing hug. Our combined weight caught me off balance sending us tumbling towards the ground.

"Mei!" I cried as we connected with the pavement.

_Ow,_ I thought wincing, _hello floor, meet my poor abused body. Body meet painful evil floor._

A strange choking noise broke through my thoughts, and I glanced down baffled. And then I realised that my best friend was sobbing openly into my, rather sore, shoulder. She looked up at me with wide grey eyes that were sparkling with tears.

"Oh Nali, I'm s-so s-s-sorry!" Her arms tightened around me and I gasped for the air that she was currently cutting off.

"I s-s-s-shouldn't have s-shouted at you! But I was s-so hurt that you'd left me in the dark again, and I was worried because you're the only friend I have and I don't want to lose you again!" She ranted on as I felt my face start to go slowly blue, "And then K-K-Kito told me you had an appointment at the hospital today, and I knew I couldn't leave you to go on your own! But I was s-s-scared you'd hate me and then I got lost! And,"

"Mei," I choked out, and her tear stained face rose to meet mine, "You're killing…me here,"

Mei let out a wail, clasping me even tighter than I thought was physically possible. Oh great, where was an oxygen mask when you need one.

"I knew it!" She cried, "I just knew you wouldn't want to be friends again!"

"Mei! I…can't breathe!" She let go off me with a gasp, scrambling to her feet.

Flopping onto my back, I breathed in a lungful of air, letting out a deep sigh. My gaze scanned the sky as I thanked the heavens for the use of my two perfectly healthy lungs again.

_Oh sweet merciful air! How I hope to never live without you again!_

"Nali," A poke at my side, drew my attention from cursing whoever gave Mei such a tight grip and my head turned to face a rather wary and distraught Mei.

"yeah?" I asked as I stumbled to my feet, swaying slightly.

"Do…do you hate me?" her voice was hesitant and tentative as if she scared I would run off.

"Besides your tight grip, no," I scowled at the paper bag at my feet, before snatching it up from the ground and facing my friend, "For all your insanity and your maddening faults, I understand why you were angry at me,"

"I'm sorry for shouting at you," She whispered as she wiped at her eyes.

"It's ok. If you hadn't shouted at me, then Kito wouldn't have knocked some sense into me," I replied, awkwardly scratching at head.

"Kito hit you?"

"Uh, no. He reminded me that I didn't have to do this alone,"

A large smile graced Mei's face as her eyes lit up. She rushed forward, her arms wrapping around me again. I flailed my arms wildly in surprise.

"Mei!"

"I'm sorry!" she squeaked as she let go of me abruptly.

"Seriously, stop trying to kill me," I gasped, a hand clutched at my heart as I tried to regulate my breathing.

We made the mistake of meeting each other's gazes causing us to burst into laughter, and clutching our stomachs from the pain of laughing so hard. Passerbys stared at us like we were insane before avoiding us completely. I didn't blame them; I would've done the same in their situation.

"So uh do you want to come back to mine?" I asked, after our fit of laughter had subsided and my tears had been wiped away.

"Yours?" Her face was pulled into a confused frown, and I chewed on my lip nervously before answering.

"Uh, yeah, I was just heading home when you bumped into me,"

"Oh, so you've been to the hospital already," It was a statement, not a question and it lead to an awkward silence, which fell over us like a blanket of snow. My reluctance to answer what I knew was going to be her next question and her hesitance to ask the question halted the familiar flow of conversation that usual operated between us.

"So, what…did the doctor say?"

Twenty one letters, five spaces, six words. A sigh escaped me, and I avoided her knowing eyes. The fear that I had pushed away earlier came flooding back, and I felt nauseous.

"Mei, I…" I trailed off, unable to find the words to tell my best friend the time limit I had, "A couple of months, a year at most,"

"Oh, Nali," Her arms wrapped around me quickly, as a strange noise echoed through the air. It took me a moment to realise that I was the source of the noise and tears were rushing down my cheeks.

"I'm scared, Mei," My voice was hoarse and quiet, the words tumbling from me before I could stop them, "I'm just so scared,"

The fear that held me had haunted me for most of my life. It was always there, hidden in the back of my mind until times like these where it would rise up and consume me like an ever roaring fire that refused to be extinguished. There had always been a risk of one of my family members becoming ill, my father used to tell me it was something to do with a family trait that was passed down my mother's side. My mother had never succumbed to it, but her sister had and so had her mother. I was just the next in a long line of Tanaka's unlucky enough to fall prey to it.

As my tears slowed, Mei's grip loosened.

"Shh, it'll be ok," She held me away for a moment before smiling, "I know what you need,"

My brow furrowed in confusion as I began to wipe away the tears that stained my face. I hated crying, it was weakness to me. But sometimes trying to bottle up your feelings in order to hide them away became too much and you overflowed. Literally.

"What?"

"Three scoops of white chocolate fudge brownie ice cream?" Mei replied with a mischievous grin.

I stared at her like she was crazy for a moment, before realisation hit me.

_Mei watched me closely while I thought over what to do. I could easily drop off the package on my way to the art classrooms after school tomorrow, it wasn't like I had anything better to do._

_"Fine, but you owe me,"_

_She grinned, her eyes sparkling._

_"Two scoops of White Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream?" _

_"Make it three, and we have a deal," I bartered with a grin. Mei laughed, nudging me in the side as we continued on our path._

I laughed at my best friend, shaking my head at her memory.

"I thought you forgot about that," I said grinning widely.

"Me? Forget something like that? Never!" She replied jokingly, wrapping her arm through mine.

"Ha, you act offended but I can mention many cases where you just _happened_ to forget something," I teased her as we began to walk down the street.

"Really? Hmm none seem to come to mind,"

I rolled my eyes at her antics, slipping into the conversation easily. And as we caught up on what we had missed within the last three days and the heavens finally released its rain, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Rain bounced off the ground in a consistent drumming beat, a single question ringing in my mind.

Would I finally be able to move on from my past, now that I knew what the future held?

…

Hours later, and I found myself on my sofa with a tub of slightly melted ice cream on my blanket covered lap. Mei was sprawled across my living room floor, cake wrappers and an empty ice cream tub strewn about her prone form. She groaned and I rolled my eyes licking my white chocolate fudge brownie ice cream covered spoon blissfully.

"You shouldn't have eaten so much," I told her, watching amused as she rolled onto her side.

"Shut up!" She mumbled into the pillow her head was buried in and I snorted.

"Hey, you can't be mean to the sick girl," I teased, chucking a pillow at her.

She didn't respond, only groaning loudly once more into her pillow. Tucking my feet securely underneath myself, I turned my attention to the romantic film that was blaring loudly on the TV. The heroine of this particular tale was looking up at her saviour with gooey doe eyes that had me scoffing at the TV, while the saviour had her wrapped securely in his rather large arms. They exchanged a few vomit inducing words before kissing in what was supposed to be a dramatic climax. Instead I sighed, not feeling very romantic or dramatic, leaning my head on the arm that was resting on my knee.

Now don't get me wrong, like any normal teenage girl, I loved sappy romantic films. But this film was seriously taking it _way_ too far. It wasn't realistic, it was just _too_ sappy. Relationships just weren't like that in real life, where was the awkward first stage? The blushing? The shy smiles whenever their eyes met?

"Urgh, between my stuffedness and this sickening exchange it's no wonder I fell like I'm going to blow chunks," Mei's voice cut through my thoughts and I jolted slightly in surprise.

She was now sitting up, glaring at the TV like it had offended her. Couldn't blame her, every girl wanted that awkward first cringey stage, and I sure as hell wasn't going to deny that I was one of them.

"Ew, thanks for that imagery, Mei," my nose twitched slightly, "and please if you feel the need to blow aim at someone else,"

"Yes ma'am," She mock saluted me, her grey eyes teasing.

I rolled my eyes at her immaturity, digging my spoon into the ice cream tub. The credits of the romantic sap we had been semi-watching began to roll up on the TV, but I paid it no heed. I was too distracted by the bliss I was experiencing in devouring my ice cream.

"You're worse than Kito," I muttered, before swallowing a mouthful of ice cream.

"Like you're any better," Mei scoffed, steadily rising to her feet to look down at me, "I'm getting a drink,"

"Hey, would you lift my meds from the kitchen table and a glass of water please?" I called after her as she wandered into my kitchen.

"What am I, your servant?" Her voice drifted back to me and I couldn't help the snort that escaped me.

"Ha, you a servant? Hell is more likely to freeze over," I retorted, scraping the spoon round the sides of my tub noisily.

"Ha ha, you're so funny," I could almost see Mei rolling her grey eyes as she scrambled about in my cupboards.

A sense of contentment washed over me, and I let out a deep breath. It was comforting to have Mei around when everything else felt like it was falling to pieces. I had put on a brave mask for so long, but I didn't want to hide anymore. I just wanted to forget.

Forget about the Host Club trying to get too close.

Forget that I was now the oldest heir.

Forget that my aunt was trying to ruin my life.

Forget that I had a brain tumour that was slowly killing me.

Just forget, and live.

The rustle of a paper bag brought me back from my brooding, and I glanced up to see Mei balancing two glasses, another tub of ice cream and my meds in her mouth. Snorting and shaking my head at her idiocy, which seemed to hold no bounds, I reached up, effectively snatching the paper bag from her mouth and saving the glass of water that had been balancing precariously on the tub. I eyed her tub of ice cream as she collapsed on the other end of my sofa with a sigh.

"I thought you said you felt like you were going to be sick," I muttered as she opened the tub a little too eagerly.

"Nah, I still have room," She replied with a grin, scooping a generous amount of rocky road ice cream onto her metal spoon, "So tell me about the meds,"

Mei's statement pulled my attention back to the paper bag which now rested on my lap, and I scowled at it.

"It's supposed to be quite simple," I informed her as I tore open the bag, "I take two pills every morning and night,"

"And this is instead of treatment," She asked curiously, between mouthfuls of ice cream.

"Yeah, but unfortunately for me they still come with side effects," I shook the small bottle slightly, before emptying two pills onto my palm.

"Side effects?"

Swallowing the pills quickly, I tried to shake away the need to gag before gulping down some water. I shook my head slightly as if to rid myself of the after taste, grimacing slightly at the evil pill bottle. I detested the taste of tablets or pills, something to do with the way it felt going down my throat, but I loathed injections entirely. The last doctor who tried to get anywhere near me with a needle got quickly drop kicked.

Safe to say I never saw her again.

"The doctor said it could be anything from feeling nauseous to falling asleep," Setting the bottle aside, I eagerly returned to my ice cream.

There was a pregnant pause, Mei pondering over my words with a thoughtful expression and me devouring my ice cream in a weak attempt to get rid of the horrid gag worthy after taste of the pills.

"Well, at least your hair isn't going to fall out," She remarked, stabbing her spoon into the frozen tub.

"Hmm," I glanced down at the auburn strands that now brushed my shoulders. Now that she mentioned it, "I may need to get a trim soon though,"

Mei rolled her eyes, shaking her head exasperatedly, her own brown ponytail bouncing around her face.

"I don't understand your fascination with keeping your hair so short," she muttered into her tub.

Contrary to Mei's belief, I didn't really care much about the length of my hair. However, the plain truth was that my long hair belonged to someone I could never be. It belonged to a healthy girl with an easy smile and a complete family, not to me. Never to me.

"I just like it like that,"

"I still think you suit it better long," Mei grumbled, and I elbowed her in the gut playfully.

In retaliation she chucked a pillow at my head, which I expertly ducked under. We giggled at each other for a few moments like nothing was wrong. And with every second that passed I could feel my smile widening and a light heartedness that filled me. My thoughts distracted me for a moment, enough for Mei to chuck another pillow which caught me unawares. With a shriek I toppled forward off of the sofa, twisting around to land on my back, my legs tangled within the blanket that covered them and resting on the sofa.

Mei started laughing hysterically, while I sat up slightly scowling at her from my position on the floor.

"Urgh, I hate you," I muttered, flopping back down onto the floor as she squealed with laughter.

The doorbell rang in the distance, barely audible over Mei's shrieking laughter. We exchanged a quick look, before I attempted to stand.

Only to find myself meeting the floor once _again_, my gaze literally glued to the ceiling.

Mei let out a snort, before rising to her feet gracefully, the complete opposite of my feeble attempt to rise. Her footsteps echoed down my hallway as I lay on the cool floor. The sound of the door opening rang through the quiet hallway, and I could just make out the mumblings of two people talking before the door closed once again. I had no time to wonder about who my mystery guest was, as their footsteps were already heading towards me.

I glanced up to greet my visitor only to meet a familiar brown eyed gaze.

"Kito?"

Said man looked down at my predicament, snorting in amusement. His brown eye twinkled with mirth and I rolled my eyes at his upside down form, tilting my head in order to address him better.

"You know, you could help me up instead of standing there gawking like otaku meeting her real life anime crush," I snapped, trying futilely to remove the tangled blanket from my legs.

Mei giggled, settling on the sofa and watching the situation play out with a humorous grin twitching at her lips, while Kito sighed in disappointment. A sound burst from lips, somewhere between a scoff and a whine.

Kito finally took pity on me, pulling the blankets from my legs, before sweeping me into his arms like a child. The idiotic moron had a protective streak a mile long, and that got on my nerves more often than not. Kito had never really gotten past the stage of being childish, and some days it seemed he was more like an awkward teenager than the twenty-two year old entrepreneur he really was, and that's what I really loved about him. The fact that I knew that no matter what happened, in this life or in the next, Kito would always be the same idiotic, and yet reliable moron.

"I'm not a child, Kito!" I struggled weakly in his arms, while he chuckled.

"Of _course_ not," he teased, before dropping me unceremoniously back onto the sofa.

"_Idiot_," I muttered under my breath, curling into my corner and reclaiming my ice cream tub, "What are you doing here, moron?"

"What I need a reason to visit my best friend's little sister?" I shot him a glare, as he swooned dramatically landing in between Mei and myself.

"Yes, yes you do," I replied, before heaping a generous amount of ice cream onto my spoon, only to have Kito steal the utensil.

"Oh how your words wound me," He replied sarcastically, handing my spoon back to me and carefully avoiding my death glare.

No one touched my ice cream and got away with it. _No one!_

"I just came to check up on you," I turned to face him with narrowed eyes at his words, "Oh don't give me that look Nali Aurelie Tanaka, I know you called me already but I still retain the right to see that you _are_ actually ok,"

Oh yes, Kito had a protective streak a mile long, but sometimes I found that I didn't care. In cases like these, it showed me how much he really cared about me, and that meant more to me than anything else could've. After all isn't there a saying _"Actions speak louder than words"_?

"As you can see I'm fine, now if you think that because you're here now that means I'm going to feed you, you have another thing coming," I muttered, stabbing my spoon into the melting ice cream for emphasis.

"But _Nali_! You can't just let me _starve_," Kito wailed, clutching at my arm like a child.

"Now who's the child, _Kit_,"

"Shut up Nali, and feed me!" Kito cried, pouting.

"No,"

"Yes,"

"No,"

"Yes,"

"No,"

"No,"

"Yes," I paused, "Dammit,"

_Curse Kito and his immaturity._

Kito cheered before jumping to his feet and rushing to the kitchen like there was a fire on his heels. Covering my face with my hands, I groaned while Mei giggled. I didn't want to get up, what was the point in putting me on the sofa if he was just going to make me get up again.

Groaning, I got to my feet before trekking the endless landscape of floor that led towards the kitchen. I could hear Kito rustling about in the cupboards, and with some reluctance (I did not want my beautiful cooking space to be ruined) I entered the room.

As I entered the homely space, I turned on the twinkly lights that adorned the ceiling before setting the kettle to boil, studiously ignoring Kito as he rummaged through my freezer.

"You won't find much in there," I told him, plopping an orange and jasmine tea bag into my favourite mug, "Try the higher up cupboards,"

The Freezer closed quietly and the sound of my squeaky cupboards opening filled my kitchen. I turned to face Kito, an amused smile tugging at my lips as he gave a cry of delight at the sight of a fresh batch of brownies.

"Did you give any thought to what I said the other day?" Kito's voice broke through my musings, and I turned my startled hazel gaze to his.

"Huh?"

"Have you given any thought about what I said at the café?" I pursed my lips, avoiding his gaze, "You know about living for the now, rather than the past?"

"I have," I replied bluntly, spinning to face the kettle as it clicked off.

"And?"

"I'm working on it," was my stoic reply.

He let out a sigh at my reply, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair with exasperation.

"Just, don't get too caught up in it," his voice was quiet and serious, worlds away from the light teasing tone he had just moments before, "After all wasn't it the great Albus Dumbledore that said dwelling on the past was a bad thing?"

"_It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live_," I whispered softly, glancing down at the dark granite that covered the worktop.

"That's it, squirt,"

Kito gave me a small grin, ruffling my hair in what may have seemed like an endearing way, but was in fact rather insulting. I pushed the offending limb away from my already frizzy short hair, glaring at the older boy.

"Don't touch the hair," I threatened in a dark tone, "And stop contradicting yourself, you moronic nerd,"

Kito just rolled his eyes, before walking out the kitchen door, humming under his breath and an entire case of brownies under his arm.

Shaking my head at his antics, I turned back to the piping kettle.

Pouring the boiling water into my mug, I eyed the only photo that adorned my kitchen wall. I had to stop looking at the negatives, and at the positives. Like Hideaki would've wanted. I stirred the steaming liquid, a grin tugging at my lips. It was time to begin, I needed to stop beating myself up on something I couldn't change.

Although I was scared, and a little daunted by the enormity of this dreary situation, I couldn't help but feel like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. There would be no more ifs, no more maybes, just the certainty of what was to come and how I was going to handle it. Mei had been right when she confronted me about my illness. Uncle Yori had been right when he'd said it would get better, because I guess in some way it had. Kito had been right when he had said that I was stuck in the past, because, I realised, that I had been frightened by what the future could hold. I had been afraid that I would forget the things I didn't want to lose, afraid that I would heal in all the wrong ways.

I glanced at the graceful words on my mug, my hazel eyes landing on them and a laugh bubbled out of my lips. My cold fingers clasped the mug, enjoying the warmth that jolted through them.

_Don't spend life fearing the storm, have the courage to dance in the rain._ Ironic huh? I guess the universe was trying to speak to me.

I sipped from my mug calmly, I guess I would be crazy to ignore the universe when it was talking to me.

Behind me, a small toothless girl grinned, a taller boy holding her close to his chest with a mischievous grin of his own. The light flashed across the surface of the photo, and for a second the figures in the picture changed, revealing a teenage girl with haunted hazel eyes, who was wrapped in the arms of a young man who shone with pride as he looked down at her.


	7. Irritating Puzzles

**HELLO! YES I AM ALIVE!**

**I'm so sorry for taking so long with this chapter, it was a complete and utter pain in my butt to write, but alas here it finally is! In other news, 1,000 views people! Thank you SO SO much! So ok, here's the chapter, all comments and questions are greatly appreciated :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own OHSHC, only my ultra cool wallpaper.**

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Irritating Puzzles**

_Well I'm not paralyzed_

_But, I seem to be struck by you_

_I want to make you move_

_Because you're standing still_

_If your body matches_

_What your eyes can do_

_You'll probably move right through_

_Me on my way to you_

_Paralyzer ~ Finger Eleven_

…

**NALI**

A single, solitary leaf drifted down from the sky, like an open flame on silver water. The wind whispered, pulling at my hair and clothes playfully as I stood silently, an isolated figure, a shadow amongst colour. The grass beneath my feet was a vibrant green, a vivid contrast with the drab headstones that were scattered around me, all different shapes and sizes, each one the same, and yet unique. I kneeled before the first grave, wiping the bare marbled surface that was frozen to the touch.

Silence had settled over the cemetery, early morning mist drifted between the markers, the only remnants of the people who had once lived as I did, who now rested beneath the ground, all but forgotten. Placing a single white lily on the graves before me, I stood wiping away the hot salty tears that trailed drown my cheeks.

_It had been a year, a year since things changed. They say that with time, things become easier, when in fact the opposite is true. _

I could see it in my head. Hear it. The conversation and the laughter, which turned into screams and pleas.

_Time heals the wound that is honest enough, but the wound becomes a scar and that scar stays with you forever. Easy to ignore but impossible to forget. _

The screech of the tyres on the road, the headlights of the oncoming truck, the crunch of metal as it grated against the tarmac. And the pain, the never-ending pain that rushed through my veins like a fire that wouldn't be quenched.

_"I promise that one day, things will be better for you Nali. You'll look back and you'll realise that all that is happening now made you stronger."_

"I'm sorry," the words slipped out before I could stop them, like the tears that I couldn't stop.

_"You just don't get it Nali. You need to stop hiding behind your mistakes and living in the past," His words caused me to freeze and a shiver ran down my spine, "You need to start living in the now and for yourself. Not for Yori, not for me, not for your aunt, and _especially_ not for Hideaki,"_

I hated this. I hated being a weak, crying mess, because that wasn't me. Some days I felt like two different people being pulled in two different directions. The girl with blank mask, perfectly content to continue on this path oblivious to the world around her and the girl who once was loved but now wished to move forward, past the hole she had long ago fallen down.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I ran a hand over the cool surface of my brother's headstone.

"I wish you guys were here, maybe I wouldn't feel so scared," I snorted, wiping the tears away with a smile, "But you guys aren't here, are you?"

_"I'm scared, Mei," My voice was hoarse and quiet, the words tumbling from me before I could stop them, "I'm just so scared,"_

There was no reply, but I was not expecting one. Nothing else needed to be said. I had screamed all my words to the heavens, I had cried all my tears. There was nothing left but a hollow feeling that ached in my chest whenever I breathed. I had been so lost, blind to what was around me, stumbling about in the dark searching for a light switch that was never there to begin with.

I let out a soft sigh, before murmuring under my breath.

"Repose en paix,"

I was still searching for that light switch, but now…now I could see the shadows in the early morning light.

A single breath escaped me, and with one last forlorn look at the faded grey marble I rose to my feet slowly and turned from the headstones, my steps echoing throughout the cemetery.

I didn't look back, but if I had I may have noticed the crushed grass that surrounded the spot that I had stood in just moment before, as if three people had been standing there instead of one.

…

Loss was a fickle thing. It was the candle that wouldn't light, and the roaring fire that you couldn't put out. It kicked you down when your back was turned but offered a helping hand to build you back up.

It changed. It was inconstant.

It was impossible to forget but hard to remember.

Time had moved on, hours had turned into days and days into weeks, and life went back to a kind of normal routine. Mei and I had fallen back into our old ways with great ease, as if nothing had happened between us. This was hardly surprising, the day that Mei could hold a grudge any longer than a few days, would be the day pigs would fly.

Fights would never last long between us, Mei was too soft and I was terrible in an argument.

Haruhi remained blissfully unaware of any change in our behaviours, although I was starting to think that Haruhi was pretty much oblivious to everything. It also seemed like _The Host Club King_ had given up in his endeavour to force my attendance at his stupid club, something I was rather relieved at. I would rather chew on the Devil's toes than have to either visit his club or eat lunch in the library _again_. Besides the librarian was already starting to get suspicious of me, the old hag.

A quick glance over the top of yellow pages revealed the librarian sitting primly at her oak desk, trying and failing to read a popular gossip magazine under the table, her glasses practically sliding off her nose as her eyes scanned the page hungrily.

I snorted shaking my head, and returning to my thoughts. If there was anyone more oblivious than Haruhi, it would have to be Blondie. The idiot had the attention span of a fly on a sugar rush if his outbursts in class were anything to go by, he still hadn't worked out the fact we were in the same class.

And his creepy friend was not much better.

My face darkened at the thought of Kyoya Ootori and his stupid smartness and his stupid knowing eyes, my clutch on the dog eared book in my hands tightening.

_Grrr, he's just so irritating._

Music pounded through my ears, the bass thrumming as I banished all thoughts of the Ootori Creeper and Blondie. With a sigh, I returned my attention to the play spread on my lap. It seemed as if the people Upstairs were actually listening to my prayers for once as the Library was blissfully devoid of life. I was currently hiding in one of the third floor Library's best window seat, which overlooked the Academy's, rather perverted in my opinion at least, fountain and rose covered courtyard.

I had the sneaky suspicion that the headmaster, who I had only met once briefly upon my transfer to the school, had a secret thing for romance. Either that or he was gay, but I think the former was more likely.

My lips mouthed along to the song, my soft voice hitting the notes shakily and filling the isolated corner with noise I couldn't claim was anything but an incomprehensible tune.

A battered, but well-loved copy of Hamlet was spread across my lap, short legs stretched out in the small space the window sill provided, one cherry doc covered in illegible sharpie lay forgotten on the ground beside me. The sun beat down, warming my skin and making me rather sleepy as I soaked up the tragedy unfolding before me. My eyes drifted from the page and towards the courtyard where many students mingled.

The bright colours that assaulted my senses contrasted the simple design of the library I was locked up in. The third floor library was the smallest of Ouran's many libraries, and was well-known as the Winter Library as it was the one room most frequented by students during the colder months due to its roaring fire and cosy décor.

However, the library may have been popular during snow but when the sun was shining much like it was today, many steered away from the room in favour of open courtyards and green grass, leaving it practically empty and allowing me to finally get some alone time.

Haruhi had disappeared earlier, down one of Ouran's many hallways, muttering something about a spoiled brat and idiotic rich people, and Mei had followed shortly after, leaving me to escape down Ouran's winding hallways, in a poor attempt to avoid returning to a ghost house.

With a sigh, I let the book close, the withered and ancient pages rustling slightly as I ran my fingers over the smooth, but worn cover. I glanced over where my maths revision lay discarded on the floor beside me frowning, before looking back at my play. Inside my head, I was lost in the tale of the indecisive Hamlet as he danced on the line of insanity, while in reality I was procrastinating. Majorly procrastinating.

An entire week of exams had really taken its toll on me, not to mention the new pills that the Doctor had given me had messed up my sleeping pattern. I was, in short, exhausted.

A quick glance at the clock told me that it was time to get moving. I gathered the scattered revision books and jotters together in a big pile while simultaneously sliding my foot back into the forgotten doc, precariously balancing my play on top of the unstable tower in my arms. Carefully manoeuvring my satchel to sit on my shoulder securely I began to head unsteadily towards the librarian's desk, gathering courage to actually face the bitter hag with the permanent sour expression.

But suddenly, out of nowhere, something yellow crashed into me, causing the already teetering pile of books and school to tumble from my lax grip and onto the smooth marble, spewing across the pale surface. I mentally groaned at the sight of my scattered school books, ignoring the urge bang my head against the nearest the bookshelf.

_Merde._

"Oopsy, I didn't see you there,"

Gritting my teeth at the familiar high-pitched voice, my irritated gaze rose to meet a pair of wide blue eyes and a gloating look. Makiko Sato a.k.a the devil incarnate glanced down at me with a smug look, her witches sniggering behind her.

"It's no problem, Machiko," I muttered, pulling an earphone out as I bent down to start gathering my books together.

As I reached to grasp my maths textbook, a smart black shoe came down forcing it to the ground again and narrowly missing my hand. Oh, I was so not in the mood to deal with her irritating ways. Ignoring the steam pouring out of her ears and causally pushing her hand away, I gathered the last of my books in my arms once again.

"It's Makiko," She snarled, her dark eyes flashing dangerously as I peered at her over the top of my pile with a raised eyebrow.

"Makiko, Machiko, potato, tomato. It's all the same to me," I replied nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders.

Makiko leaned dangerously close to me, her hand gripping my wrist tightly, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"I don't know what _trash_ like you is doing here, but I'd watch myself, if I were you," She hissed in my ear, before barging past me, her shoulder smashing into mine painfully.

Determined _not_ to scatter my books across the shiny floor once again, I flailed before quickly regaining my balance and shifting the weight of my books evenly in my arms.

"A pleasure like always, Michiko," I saluted her with a grin, "I look forward to our next meeting,"

She shot me a venomous glare over her shoulder as she exited the library, her cronies whispering to each other and sending me nasty looks every two seconds. I released a relieved sigh as soon as she and her group had disappeared, effectively blowing my fringe out of my eyes and glancing down at the unsteady pile in my arms. I wasn't aware of the cool grey eyes that had witnessed the whole exchange, maybe if I had I would've seen something. Something that definitely wasn't there before.

Slipping my abandoned earphone back in, I dumped the books on the window seat I had been perched upon just moments before. The bass poured over me as I grumbled under my breath, annoyed at the interruption of my peace.

A tap on my shoulder alerted me to the fact that someone was standing behind me, and I spun around to face the stranger. MY play obscured my vision, a cool hand I loathed to recognise holding it out towards me.

I looked up startled, only to meet a pair of cool grey eyes hidden behind the gleam of slim frames. Shooting up, I tightened my grasp on the textbook I had picked up, flustered by the fact that _he_ of all people had to help me.

_How embarrassing._

He dwarfed me, something I hadn't really noticed before now. I studied him distractedly, unsurprised when I realised that he had to have at least a foot and a half on me, with perfectly combed hair and a grin tugging at his perfect lips. Wait a second, was he laughing at me? His lips were moving but no sound reached me, the pounding bass in my ears drowning out his words. Heat flushed up my neck and face, embarrassed by the fact that I had been caught staring, and I tugged the tiny earbuds from my ears.

"I believe this is yours," Kyoya Ootori's hand was outstretched towards me, Hamlet loose in his grasp. I glanced from the book up to his face suspiciously, before taking the play from his hand.

"Thanks," I muttered, watching him warily as I added the book to the unstable pile in my arms. Keeping Ootori within my sights, I turned back to my leaning tower of revision materials.

Rather than risk another trip with the annoyingly heavy textbooks, I made the decision to shove as many into my worn satchel, before setting the leftovers into a much smaller pile to carry. As I slipped the satchel over my shoulder, I glanced at Pretty Boy slyly.

He may be acting nice and pleasant, but I didn't trust the guy as far as I could throw him. He almost always had a trick up his sleeve or some snarky comment to make behind a forced polite smile or an irritating smirk.

"I see you have stopped your moonwalking for today," A smug grin tugged at his lips and I resisted the urge to slap it from his face, spinning to face him, "Are you in search of more interesting hobbies?"

And there he is, ladies and gents. The sarcastically fake Kyoya Ootori, I love to loathe.

"No, but thanks for your concern," I replied, sickly sweet with a polite smile, "I see your still being a cold-hearted, ignorant ass,"

A gleam bounced off his glasses as he pushed them up his nose, before revealing dangerously narrowed eyes. I kept my eyes level with his, vaguely irritated with his smartass comments and glaring, crossing my arms over my chest.

_Stupid, rich, arrogant pretty boy thinking that he always gets his way._

"Look, do you want something or are you going to stand in my way all day?" I broke the silence, dropping my gaze to my chipped black nail polish.

He let out a barely audible sigh, grumbling nonsense under his breath, before giving me a polite smile. I raised my eyes to watch him, my head tilting before I could stop it as I studied him curiously. What was he doing? Blinking at him in bewilderment as he continued to smile, I shifted the strap of my bag.

_I wonder if he knows how creepy that smile is._

"Do you, uh, mind?" I said, watching as he regarded me curiously, "You're kinda creeping me out,"

Kyoya simply raised an eyebrow at my comment, his lips tugging ever so slightly into what I could consider the ghost of a real smile, instead of his creepy one.

"It seems that your wit knows no bounds, Miss Tanaka," He commented dryly, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

"Glad that you are amused, _Ootori_," I snapped, edging around him and clutching my pile of textbooks closer to my chest, "But I'm gonna go now,"

Just as I had managed to slip by him, barely managing to balance my small but precarious pile of textbooks, a cold hand gripped my wrist. I turned to face a pair of cold grey eyes and that irritating smile.

"Allow me to assist you," Ootori said, capturing the escaping books with an ease that annoyed me to no end, "It is the least I can do,"

"I'm fine, thanks," I muttered, attempting to take the books back from him.

"I must insist," Keeping a firm grasp on the textbooks, he indicated for me to lead the way. Quickly realising that I was fighting a losing battle, I lead him out of the library, ignoring the not-so-sublte glare from the librarian as we passed by her desk.

The corridors were still empty, much to my relief, and Kyoya and I remained in silence, well he remained in silence I grumbled and cursed under my breath concentrating on _not_ tripping over my laces and faceplanting in front of _Ootori_, as we navigated our way towards the nearest staircase. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, confusion washing through me. I couldn't understand why he would to want to help me just moments after his "favourite" guest had attempted to humiliate me.

"So, any particular reason why you _insisted_ on helping me?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them, and my inner Nali groaned, her spidey sense tingling in trepidation of the word vomit about to escape me, "Because if you want some kind of debt over me, I don't really have anything to give you, or pay you with. So you might as well drop that idea considering the fact that it's going to get you nowhere,"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, effectively shutting me up. Quickly dropping my gaze to the floor, I tried to squelch the embarrassment that was colouring my face a shade similar to that of a tomato.

"Do I need a reason to escort a beautiful young woman to her locker?"

A snort escaped, shortly followed by a smothered giggle. The hands that had been previously holding the strap of my satchel were now covering my mouth as I bit my lip, trying really hard not to laugh at the oblivious boy walking beside me. My attempts were however all in vain, as Ootori looked down at me, his face twisted in confusion I could only translate as the universal expression for _'what'_.

"I'm sorry," I gasped out between giggles, "But…you…hahaha…you called me a young woman,"

My hands clutched my stomach, as my miserable struggle to smother my giggles, turned into full blown laughter, which rang through the silent corridors, stretched out before us.

"And?"

Sobering, I glanced up at Kyoya with a large smile. He looked so bewildered, the poor sod, that I paused as we reached the grand staircase that would lead us down to the bottom floor.

_He must think I'm missing a few screws._

"Ok, let's get some things straight," I explained, wiping stray tears away from my eyes, "A), I am not and never will be a _"young woman"_, it's just not going to happen. Ever. And B), if you think some flattery is going to get you on my good side, then you've got another thing coming, buster. I'm not just another airhead you can woo with some fancy wording and wealthy tricks, you hear?"

"I see," Was all he said as we made our way down the staircase, although I wasn't sure he actually did. I'm not quite sure Kyoya understood what he was gaining by talking to me, I wasn't the usual type of girl he hung around with that was for sure. And it was well known that the Shadow King did nothing without some sort of hidden motive.

_So just what does he want?_

Silence lapsed between us, but it was comfortable like a worn cardigan on a winter's day, instead of the awkward silence it had been before. Doubts swirled about in my head, Inner Nali attempting to sift through them while simultaneously offering advice. Maybe Kyoya wasn't the bad guy they had made him out to be, maybe…just maybe…he was a lot more.

_A paradox. _Inner Nali told me, as if she was offering me some sort of enlightenment.

_Really not helping._

She didn't reply, scoffing and…oh jeez, she wasn't a real person for bejesus' sake.

"I'm assuming you like to read in your spare time?" Ootori's question pushed me out of my thoughts, and I could feel a question mark hovering over my head, "You were reading Hamlet. It is not a play someone takes on lightly,"

_Oh._

"It's my favourite play,"

"You enjoy Shakespeare, then," It was more of a statement than a question, it seemed like Ootori knew that without needing to confirm it.

His statement left more than a bit bewildered and a tiny bit angry. Ok maybe a bit more than a tiny bit angry. He better not get any notions about knowing me just because he walked me to my locker once.

But something inside, probably an indignant Inner Nali, questioned whether this _would_ be a onetime thing.

"Among other things," I shot him a sly look, "What about you? Do you appreciate the great bards work?"

"Among other things," He replied smartly, a gleam shining over his glasses.

I gritted my teeth at his reply, squishing down the urge to smack round the back of his head.

_Be nice._

"Why did you want to know?" I asked, through my teeth in a lame attempt to change the situation before I literally bit his head off.

There was a moment of silence between us, only the sound of our shoes smacking against the marbled floor reaching my ears. We turned around a corner, into the final hallway before the entrance where all the lockers resided. My gaze dropped to my torn satchel, digging around for my keys as I drew to a stop in front of my plain metal locker.

"Curiosity," I glanced up at Kyoya as he spoke from beside me, with a shrewd look.

"Didn't you hear? Curiosity killed the cat," I muttered, swallowing a cry of victory as I pulled my keys out of the depths of my bag.

I slid my key into the padlock, mentally wincing when the locker shot open with an almighty clang that echoed down the silent corridor that stretched out before us. Expertly ignoring the pictures and posters that adorned my locker door, I turned to face Kyoya, gesturing for the piles of books in his arms. He handed them to me smoothly, and I chucked them in without a care, closing the door just as abruptly.

"And satisfaction brought it back,"

Startled at his words I straightened, my gaze shooting up to meet his, a smirk on his lips. An eyebrow was raised at my baffled gaze while I squinted at him, a distinct the urge to slap it from his pretty face rising within me.

_Is he teasing me?_ I wondered, curiously, _Because I _really_ can't tell._

"Whatever you say, honey bunch," I replied warily, smacking his cheek slightly.

In reality, I was quickly realising that everything Kyoya Ootori did baffled me. As much as I wanted to solve the mystery behind the mask he wore, I wondered, albeit a little guardedly, if the end result would really be worth the effort that would be required. With a snap, the padlock locked in place, returning to its rightful place as guard of the metal beast. Slipping my keys back into the depths of the worn satchel, I never placed them in my jumper after the fiftieth time of losing them when they fell out, I turned to face Ootori.

Instead of meeting his calculating gaze, I was met with my withered copy of Hamlet, which was loose in his grasp as he held it out to me. Taking the play, almost cautiously, I looked up at him curiously from beneath my fiery fringe.

"You should keep a better hold of this," He told me with that infuriating smirk.

Heat rushed up my neck and face, and I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

"I guess it should, huh?" I brushed the fringe out my eyes as I glanced down at the play now tucked tightly in my hands, "I believe this is where we part ways, Ootori,"

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy," He muttered, pushing his glasses up his nose.

I blinked at him for a moment, before my lips tugged upwards in the semblance of a grin.

"Smartass," I said, rolling my eyes at him.

He grasped my hand quickly, and bringing it to his lips, warmth fluttered over my hand and my stomach tensed. Ootori dropped my hand almost as abruptly as he had grabbed it, and I stared it stunned.

_What is this feeling?_

When I glanced back up, he was gone, leaving the corridor silent and empty, the soft muslin curtains fluttering in the breeze of an open window. My eyes dropped to my hand again, wide with shock before scrunching up in an expression of distaste. Wiping the hand against the material of my jumper, I pulled a face.

_Ok, ew._ I thought, in horror, _This feeling can only be nausea._

He kissed my hand. His saliva. Touched. My. Hand.

My stomach rolled again, Inner Nali gagged clutching her neck like she was choking.

_Yup, _definitely_ nausea._

Calming myself after that traumatic experience, I clasped my play tightly to my chest with a sigh. My docs slapped against the floor while my thoughts swirled. So maybe Ootori wasn't the stick in the mud I thought he was, but he was complex. An irritating puzzle, that once you thought had solved one side served to disappoint you by revealing another. Although as I walked away from my locker, I had the unmistakable feeling of achievement, as if I had in fact slotted one of those illusive pieces into place.

_God only knows what I'm going to have to do to solve the other sides._

I was so lost in my thoughts that I failed to notice my trailing shoe lace. However, my lack of coordination did, and before I knew what was happening, I was flying head over heels and landing with an _'oomph'_ on the solid evil marble. The play was sent sprawling across the ground, and I groaned, letting my head fall against the cool marble.

_Damn my coordination to hell!_

Stumbling to my feet, I brushed myself down throwing my bag over my shoulder carelessly. As I made my way over to the play, I half expected Ootori to swoop down like one of those fairy tale princes you hear about sometimes and hand my play to me again.

I mentally facepalmed, shaking away any thoughts of the Shadow King.

He came to my rescue one time, and all of a sudden he's my fairy tale prince? A sweatdrop fell as that thought paused through my mind. Jeez, I really need to get out more.

Pushing those thoughts to one side, I picked the play up. I paused, however when my eye caught a flutter of paper escape the withered pages. With a furrowed brow, I picked up the two pieces of rectangle pink paper, about the size of my hand, inspecting them curiously and in that instant my gaze landed on the gold calligraphy that danced across the rectangles.

_Oh Ootori,_ I scowled upon reading the scrawl, _you are _so _dead._


End file.
